Songs, Ballads, and Other Poems by the late Thomas Haynes Bayly; Edited by his Widow. With A Memoir of the Author. In Two Volumes |
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LONG AGO, ERE MY WINGS WERE UNFURL'D. |
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 | Songs, Ballads, and Other Poems |  |
60
VI. LONG AGO, ERE MY WINGS WERE UNFURL'D.
Long ago, ere my wings were unfurl'd,
When I lay in a chrysalis state;
I was ugly, neglected, unfit for the world,
And despised by the gay and the great:
If I ventured to utter a word,
My voice in an instant was hush'd;
And, when trampled upon, it was voted absurd
In a Grub to resist being crush'd.
When I lay in a chrysalis state;
I was ugly, neglected, unfit for the world,
And despised by the gay and the great:
If I ventured to utter a word,
My voice in an instant was hush'd;
And, when trampled upon, it was voted absurd
In a Grub to resist being crush'd.
But my fortunes improved, and I rose
In the world on the wings of success;
And I very soon found I was follow'd by those,
Who once laugh'd at my manners and dress:
The blossoms of beauty, that spurn'd
Long ago so degrading a match,
Now when I perch'd near to them, smilingly turn'd;
For they thought me a pretty good catch.
In the world on the wings of success;
And I very soon found I was follow'd by those,
Who once laugh'd at my manners and dress:
The blossoms of beauty, that spurn'd
Long ago so degrading a match,
Now when I perch'd near to them, smilingly turn'd;
For they thought me a pretty good catch.
This, I own, is a fanciful theme;
Yet 'tis not without meaning, you'll find:
For the loves of the Butterflies, small though they seem,
May resemble the loves of mankind—
The Grub, that is slighted to-day
As a suitor presuming and bold,
May perhaps be received in a different way,
When soaring on pinions of gold.
Yet 'tis not without meaning, you'll find:
For the loves of the Butterflies, small though they seem,
May resemble the loves of mankind—
The Grub, that is slighted to-day
As a suitor presuming and bold,
May perhaps be received in a different way,
When soaring on pinions of gold.
| Songs, Ballads, and Other Poems | |