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One day I picked a fine bouquet
Of wild milkweed flowers,
Then pretty, purple, pink, perfumed
To beautify the hours.
But on a spray of greenery,
Then on a milweed leaf,
I saw a tiny bit of white,
If only but so brief.
I looked again to see an egg,
Alone upon the frond,
A tiny piece of living cell
Which butterflies had bond.
I watched this tiny bit of life,
This simple little round;
I watched this tiny egg turn dark
And then a worm I found.
Now a tiny little being
A butterfly had laid;
I watched it grow and grow and grow;
I watched a monarch made.
'Twas dressed in black and white and gold,
Most fitting for a king,
But by and by he ceased to eat
And to a leaf he'd cling.
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And then I watched his skin just split
Before my very eyes;
He changed into a chrysalid,
A truly royal prize.
But now gone was his black and white,
Then traded for some green,
And then the green was trimmed in gold,
The finest that I had seen.
A ring of brilliant golden jewels
Adorned this royal prize;
Now what could be more marvelous
Than that before my eyes?
I watched this tiny bit of life,
This simple little round;
I watched this tiny gem turn dark;
I watched a thing profound.
'Cause then I saw his skin just split
Before my very eyes;
I saw a royal king emerge,
Now born to rule the skies.
Now what could be more marvelous
Than that before my eyes:
A pretty monarch butterfly;
How easily it flies.
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