Observe the insect race, ordained to keep
The silent sabbath of a half year's sleep!
Entom'd beneath the filmy web they lie
And wait the influence of a kinder sky;
When vernal sunbeams pierce the dark retreat,
The heaving tomb distends with vital heat;
The full formed brood, impatient of their cell,
Start from their trance, and burst their silken shell.
BARBAULD.