FREE as the wandering pike am I, Many the strings to my amorous bow, More than a little inclined to fly Butterfly lovering, to and fro; Happy wherever the flowers blow, With the dew on the leaf, and the sunshine above, Terribly wrong and unprincipled? No, Life is too short to be "dead in love!" Not for me is the lover's sigh; Fools are they to be worrying so! Sipping my fill of the honey I fly Butterfly lovering, to and fro. I skim the cream, and let all else go; Gather my roses, and give a shove Over my shoulder at dutiful woe,— Life is too short to be "dead in love!" So, while the fanciful hours go by, I gayly reap what the simpletons sow. Fresh with their bloom are the fruits I try, Butterfly lovering, to and fro. Then here's to the lady who wears her beau On and off, like a dainty glove! And here's to the zephyrs that all-ways blow— Life is too short to be "dead in love!" ENVOY Prince, who cares for the coming snow, Butterfly lovering to and fro? Why should a man be a turtle-dove? Life is too short to be "dead in love!" | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE PRAYER PERFECT by JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY UNDERWOODS: BOOK 1: 6. A VISIT FROM THE SEA by ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON AN ATHENIAN GARDEN by TRUMBULL STICKNEY THE OLD CUMBERLAND BEGGAR by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH LAURENCE BLOOMFIELD IN IRELAND: 2. FINLAY by WILLIAM ALLINGHAM ON THE LATE S.T. COLERIDGE by WASHINGTON ALLSTON |