Upon A Fly.
A golden fly one show'd to me, Clos'd in a box of ivory, Where both seem'd proud: the fly to have His burial in an ivory grave; The ivory took state to hold A corpse as bright as burnish'd gold. One fate had both, both equal grace; The buried, and the burying-place. Not Virgil's gnat, to whom the spring All flowers sent to's burying; Not Martial's bee, which in a bead Of amber quick was buried; Nor that fine worm that does inter Herself i' th' silken sepulchre; Nor my rare Phil,[K] that lately was With lilies tomb'd up in a glass; More honour had than this same fly, Dead, and closed up in ivory.
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"A golden fly one show'd to me,..."
"Upon A Fly." is a quintessential example of Robert Herrick's signature style... ### Why We Love This Line At Linespedia, we believe that poetry is the ultimate sanctuary for the soul...