(from Little Men: 1871)I write about the butterfly,
It is a pretty thing;
And flies about like the birds,
But it does not sing.
First it is a little grub,
And then it is a nice yellow cocoon,
And then the butterfly
Eats its way out soon.
They live on dew and honey,
They do not have any hive,
They do not sting like wasps, and bees, and hornets,
And to be as good as they are we should strive.
Louisa May Alcott
(1832-1888)
I loved how in the first two stanzas, the butterflies are first portrayed as something beautiful, such as: "It is a pretty thing; And flies about like the birds", but then it makes a sharp turn "But it does not sing". Emphasis on the 'but'. In the second stanza, the butterfly is described as a cute "little grub" and a "nice yellow cocoon" and then bam, another change! "Eats its way out". It's a really light and pretty poem full of imagery...!
ReplyDeleteYes, a very powerful poem from a children's book. How better explain to a child what a butterfly is... and even make a child think out the poem.
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