Living

Lines, on finding a butterfly in a weaving shed

by John Hartley 1839–1915

From Yorkshire Ditties, First Series

Living

Nay surelee tha's made a mistak;
Tha'rt aght o' thi element here;
Tha may weel goa an' peark up oth' thack,
Thi bonny wings shakin wi fear.

Aw should think 'at theease rattlin looms
Saand queer sooart o' music to thee;
An' tha'll hardly quite relish th' perfumes
O' miln-grease,--what th' quality be.

Maybe' tha'rt disgusted wi' us,
An' thinks we're a low offald set
But tha'rt sadly mistaen if tha does,
For ther's hooap an' ther's pride in us yet.

Tha wor nobbut a worm once thisen,
An' as humble as humble could be;
An' tho we nah are like tha wor then,
We may yet be as nobby as thee.

Tha'd to see thi own livin when young,
An' when tha grew up tha'd to spin;
An' if labor like that worn't wrong,
Tha con hardly call wayvin 'a sin.'

But tha longs to be off aw con tell;
For tha shows 'at tha ar'nt content:
Soa aw'll oppen thee th' window--farewell!
Off tha goas, bonny fly!--An' it went.

MLA

Hartley, John. “Lines, on finding a butterfly in a weaving shed.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/hartley_j/10/.

Chicago

Hartley, John. “Lines, on finding a butterfly in a weaving shed.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/hartley_j/10/.

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