From Cocoon forth a Butterfly
As Lady from her Door
Emerged — a Summer Afternoon —
Repairing Everywhere —
Without Design — that I could trace
Except to stray abroad
On miscellaneous Enterprise
The Clovers — understood —
Her pretty Parasol be seen
Contracting in a Field
Where Men made Hay —
Then struggling hard
With an opposing Cloud —
Where Parties — Phantom as Herself —
To Nowhere — seemed to go
In purposeless Circumference —
As ’twere a Tropic Show —
And notwithstanding Bee — that worked —
And Flower — that zealous blew —
This Audience of Idleness
Disdained them, from the Sky —
Till Sundown crept — a steady Tide —
And Men that made the Hay —
And Afternoon — and Butterfly —
Extinguished — in the Sea —
F609 and F610 feel related, both about passing days, both in languid language, and actors in both, grains of sand and butterflies, vanish in time’s sea. Perhaps that’s why Franklin numbered them consecutively.
However, he dated them “summer 1863” and “last half 1863”, and ED put them in Fascicle 26 (Poem 21) and Fascicle 29 (Poem 1), respectively. Also, F609 is a love poem of patient waiting for reunion in heaven, while F610 segues from a summer day (Stanzas 1-4) to meaningless merging with the sea (Stanzas 5-6).
F609-F610 inference? Make hay while the sun shines for tomorrow the bell tolls for thee?