From the Chrysalis

Emily Dickinson(1830–1886)

1890

My cocoon tightens, colors tease,I'm feeling for the air;A dim capacity for wingsDegrades the dress I wear.

A power of butterfly must beThe aptitude to fly,Meadows of majesty concedesAnd easy sweeps of sky.

So I must baffle at the hintAnd cipher at the sign,And make much blunder, if at lastI take the clew divine.

From Poems (1890), via the English Wikisource transcription.

Public domainThis poem is in the public domain. You may read it, copy it, recite it and publish it without asking anyone.