Giant and the star : little annals in rhyme / by Madison Cawein [electronic text]

BEETLE AND MOTH

I

THERE's a bug at night that goes Drowsily down the garden ways; Lumberingly above the rose, And above the jasmine sprays; Bumping, bungling, buzzing by, Falling finally, to crawl Underneath the rose and lie Near its fairest bud. That's all. And I ask my father why This old bug goes by that way: This is what he has to say: —

"That's old Parson Beetle, sonny; He's in love with some rich flower; After her and all her honey — And he'll have them in an hour. He is awkward, but, I say, With the flowers he has a way; And, I tell you, he's a power; Never fails to get his flower: He's a great old Beetle, sonny."

II

Then again, when it is wet, And we sit around the lamp, On the screen, near which it's set,Comes a fluttering, dim and damp, Of white, woolly wings; and I Go to see what's there and find Something like a butterfly, Beating at the window-blind. And I ask my father why This strange creature does that way: This is what he has to say: —

"Lady Moth that; she's the fashion: Fall's in love with all bright things: She has a consuming passion For this light: will singe her wings. Once it was a star, you know, — That she loved. — I told you so! Take her up. What lovely rings On her scorched and dainty wings! — It's a pity, but the fashion."