Verse: Sowing And Reaping

Sow with a generous hand; Pause not for toil or pain; Weary not through the heat of summer, Weary not through the cold spring rain; But wait till the autumn comes For the sheaves of golden grain.

Scatter the seed, and fear not, A table will be spread; What matter if you are too weary To eat your hard-earned bread: Sow, while the earth is broken, For the hungry must be fed.

Sow;--while the seeds are lying In the warm earth's bosom deep, And your warm tears fall upon it-- They will stir in their quiet sleep; And the green blades rise the quicker, Perchance, for the tears you weep.

Then sow;--for the hours are fleeting, And the seed must fall to-day; And care not what hands shall reap it, Or if you shall have passed away Before the waving corn-fields Shall gladden the sunny day.

Sow; and look onward, upward, Where the starry light appears-- Where, in spite of the coward's doubting, Or your own heart's trembling fears, You shall reap in joy the harvest You have sown to-day in tears.