The Sower
J. Lambie.
1908

Who, having watched the farmer sow his grain,—
Or, better still, himself hath been the sower,—
Hath seen throughout the sunshine and the shower,
The thin blades pierce the quicken'd earth again ;—
The green tints all to golden turn amain,
As if by some occult, alchemic power ;
Then, in the end, with subtle sweep the mower,
Lay all the gold upon the autumn plain ?
Who, thus beholding, hath not, wond'ring, thought
That cognate forces rule within our sphere?
Some fate upon the dull earth doth us cast ;
Yet, if we are with goodly virtues fraught,
Soon though the deathly reaper may appear,—
Our growth shall yield some fruitage ere the last.