Poems (Sharpless)/The Chrysalis
THE CHRYSALIS
A pendulous globe of pale, translucent green
Studded with glittering knobs of burnished gold,
I found one day beneath some brown leaves rolled.
And while I paused, wondering what this should mean,
Came a swift quiver, and ere clearly seen
The globe was rent, and to the tatters clung
The frailest creature with wet, crumpled wings;
The weakest, slightest of all earth's slight things.
With gently waving pinions there it clung
Till, warmed and strengthened by the sun's mild power,
Away it soared, away in the broad air,
Joyous and full of life, a winged flower.
And I, whose heart was heavy with despair,
Turned homeward with swift feet, and happy smile,
Hope sang such rapturous melodies the while.
Studded with glittering knobs of burnished gold,
I found one day beneath some brown leaves rolled.
And while I paused, wondering what this should mean,
Came a swift quiver, and ere clearly seen
The globe was rent, and to the tatters clung
The frailest creature with wet, crumpled wings;
The weakest, slightest of all earth's slight things.
With gently waving pinions there it clung
Till, warmed and strengthened by the sun's mild power,
Away it soared, away in the broad air,
Joyous and full of life, a winged flower.
And I, whose heart was heavy with despair,
Turned homeward with swift feet, and happy smile,
Hope sang such rapturous melodies the while.