Old-Fashioned

A RCTURUS is his other name,I'd rather call him star!It's so unkind of scienceTo go and interfere!

I pull a flower from the woods,A monster with a glassComputes the stamens in a breath,And has her in a class.

Whereas I took the butterflyAforetime in my hat,He sits erect in cabinets,The clover-bells forgot.

What once was heaven, is zenith now.Where I proposed to goWhen time's brief masquerade was done,Is mapped, and charted too!

What if the poles should frisk aboutAnd stand upon their heads!I hope I 'm ready for the worst,Whatever prank betides!

Perhaps the kingdom of Heaven 's changed!I hope the children thereWon't be new-fashioned when I come,And laugh at me, and stare!

I hope the father in the skiesWill lift his little girl, -Old-fashioned, naughty, everything, -Over the stile of pearl!