It Came To Rest

  1. I saw a monarch yesterday --
  2. Just briefly stopping on its way;
  3. Its wings held up discreetly pressed
  4. And in the sun it came to rest.
  5. A thousand miles it has to go --
  6. And last week stalled by days of snow;
  7. Some futile does it seem its quest
  8. And in the sun it came to rest.
  9. And half the flowers last week died --
  10. For butterflies do food provide;
  11. But still and all it's faced the test
  12. And in the sun it came to rest.
  13. Its odds are infinitely high,
  14. As late it's been too cool to fly;
  15. For cold it is a thing unblessed
  16. And in the sun it came to rest.
  17. Today I saw a monarch then --
  18. 'Twas in the place it had been when;
  19. Its wings held up discretely pressed
  20. And in the sun it came to rest.

- G. Kittell
2006