第39章 V

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