Good-by, Butterfly – Short Poem

Good-by, Butterfly

I turned to look. O memory!
Keep fadeless all my life for me
That picture with its lightsome grace
Of floating curls and winsome face,
That backward looked along the fence,
Where, rising higher, floating thence,
A gaudy thing of summer day
Had charmed my boy upon his way.

From flower to flower his steps it led,
Waited a moment, then it fled;
He thought it all in sportive jest,
And joined its course with happy zest,
But, missing me, he passed it by
"Good-by, butterfly, good-by."

Dear child, may all thy pleasures be
As innocent as this, to thee;
May'st thou with loving heart still heed
The way thy parents' footsteps lead;
Should life's temptations rainbow bright,
Arrest thy steps, allure thy sight,
May'st thou say then, without a sigh,
"Good-by, butterfly, good-by."