I am the Reaper.
All things with heedful hook Silent I gather.
Pale roses touched with the spring, Tall corn in summer, Fruits rich with autumn, and frail winter blossoms -
Reaping, still reaping -
All things with heedful hook Timely I gather.
I am the Sower.
All the unbodied life Runs through my seed-sheet.
Atom with atom wed, Each quickening the other, Fall through my hands, ever changing, still changeless Ceaselessly sowing, Life, incorruptible life, Flows from my seed-sheet.
Maker and breaker, I am the ebb and the flood, Here and Hereafter.
Sped through the tangle and coil Of infinite nature, Viewless and soundless I fashion all being.
Taker and giver, I am the womb and the grave, The Now and the Ever.
1875
