| Hunt and Lee, comps. The Book of the Sonnet. 1867. | | | | I. To My Wife | | By Bernard Barton (1784–1849) |
| | | THE BUTTERFLY, which sports on gaudy wing; | |
| The brawling brooklet, lost in foam and spray, | |
| As it goes dancing on its idle way; | |
| The sunflower, in broad daylight glistening; | |
| Are types of her who in the festive ring | 5 |
| Lives but to bask in fashion’s vain display, | |
| And glittering through her bright but useless day, | |
| “Flaunts, and goes down a disregarded thing!” | |
| Thy emblem, Lucy, is the busy bee, | |
| Whose industry for future hours provides; | 10 |
| The gentle streamlet, gladding as it glides | |
| Unseen along; the flower which gives the lea | |
| Fragrance and loveliness, are types of thee, | |
| And of the active worth thy modest merit hides. | | | | |
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