Barbara Penn

100

A science – so the Savants say, 
"Comparative Anatomy" – 
By which single bone – 
Is made a secret to unfold 
Of some rare tenant of the mold, 
Else perished in the stone – 

So to the eye prospective led, 
This meekest flower of the mead 
Upon a winter's day, 
Stands representative in gold 
Of Rose and Lily, manifold, 
And countless Butterfly!

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c. 1859                                                    1929

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by Emily Dickinson
from The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson 
edited by Thomas H. Johnson

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