More garden pests....

THE CATERPILLAR

He crawleth here, he creepeth there
On lyttle cat-like feet.
He weareth coats of gorgeous fur
and Lyveth but to eat

He gnaweth lettuce into shreddes
And, burrowing with his nose,
He tattereth half the garden beddes
And fretteth e'en the rose.

And yet his metaphysics lend
The creature some renowne.
In him, a super-natural end
is Nature's natural crowne.

For, out of his own mouth at last
He spinneth his cocoon
Wherein he swingeth, slumber-fast,
Beneath the summer moon;

To dram, in silken hammock curled
Of strange translunar things;
And wake, into a finer world,
An emperor, with wings.

-- Alfred Noyes

You might at first glance imagine that this was written in the 16th Century�but the author is having fun with us. Alfred Noyes lived from1880 to 1958, and is most famous for.....

The wind was a torrent of darkness upon the gusty trees,
The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,
The road was a ribbon of moonlight looping the purple moor,
And the highwayman came riding--
Riding--riding--
The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn door.....

..

Posted by John Weidner at December 6, 2003 7:00 PM