Crippled Mayfly

This was originally written as a song, accompanied with my acoustic guitar. I may record it some time...
But until then, here are the words. Thank you.

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Crippled Mayfly

The crippled mayfly rises from the mud;
It rises up, rises up.
It floats down the river,
And sheds with a shiver.

Sees its comrades raging forth;
Off to dance, and to soar.
The sun mocks him on his back,
While his wings uselessly flap.

He laughs with irony
At the scene he can see.
Sees the swifts swiftly fly
Through the open, May sky.
How he laughs and how he cries
As a fellow mayfly dies.

He's unfulfilled the purpose set out:
To breed, not live in the now.
And, as the frog takes its fill
He serves a different purpose still.