Defrauded I a Butterfly

Defrauded I a Butterfly - meaning Summary

Freedom Withheld in Two Lines

The speaker likens herself to a butterfly who has been cheated out of what was rightfully hers and instead sees the “lawful heir” occupying that position for someone else. The short poem compresses a sense of small, delicate loss into legal language, making private grievance sound both personal and oddly formal. The addressee is unspecified, so the lines can read as lament, accusation, or resigned observation about displacement, missed inheritance, or emotional exclusion from a hoped-for intimacy or role.