The Winged Flower

The Winged Flower written by William Henry Davies

From "Songs of Joy", 1911

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Bright Butterfly,
Dreaming with thy
Wings spread lengthways;
Full of black eyes,
And black bars rolled
Across red gold,
Straight from thy lips
To wings' white tips:
Wert thou a flower,
Until some power
Made thee to fly -
Then, ere we die,
Oh, let me know
Where such flowers grow.
Lead where they lie,
Now, lovely Fly.
On this leaf wet,
Dreaming worlds yet
Greener than ours -
Show me those flowers
Just when they rise
Live Butterflies.

This work is in the public domain in countries where the copyright term is the author's life plus 70 years or less.