Seeking to escape harsh reality,
I pretended to be a vine,
Climbing and clinging to a strong oak,
My eager tendrils did entwine;
With gladdened heart each morn I awoke,
Free of cares and woes, and life was fine

'Round and 'round I twisted, embracing him --
To reach Heaven's light was my goal;
Steadfast and oh, so strong was my oak,
He calmed the unrest in my soul;
Proudly I became his leafy cloak,
But overconfidence took its toll

My sheltering oak had grown tired of me,
He released me and down I fell;
It was then I yearned to be a rose
Of great beauty and fragrant smell;
Why this vain choice?  Only Heaven knows!
What folly, but how was I to tell?

Along came the bees, then the butterflies,
And soon they drank my nectar dry,
Slowly I withered, then my head drooped,
The ingrates left me there to die;
O, to what wickedness they had stooped!
With lowered head, a worm I did spy

Calmly he laid upon the Earth's *****,
Then burrowed deep into the ground,
It opened its arms and welcomed him,
And therein he dwelt, safe and sound;
Being covered by soil seemed so grim,
Yet worth the contentment he had found

"That's it!" I cried, "I want to be a worm,
Hiding deep in my earthen lair,
Where soon I'll forget life's cruelty
And the torments that drove me there!"
And no one will come to look for me,
They might know I'm gone . .  but they won't care