Part 1 — AFTER WINGS
Reading edition
This was your butterfly, you see,— His fine wings made him vain: The caterpillars crawl, but he Passed them in rich disdain.— My pretty boy says, "Let him be Only a worm again!"
O child, when things have learned to wear Wings once, they must be fain To keep them always high and fair: Think of the creeping pain Which even a butterfly must bear To be a worm again!
Sarah M. B. Piatt [1836-1919]