Barbara Penn
B. Penn
100: A science – so the Savants say,
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!
c. 1859 1929
by Emily Dickinson
from The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson
edited by Thomas H. Johnson