Friday, June 28, 2013

Field Dreamer

I till these fields where crops will be
With naught but dreams to walk with me.
Where men beat plowshares into swords
To fight the fight of ancient wars.
Yet, I am sure that what I dream
Is not as grand as it may seem,
For war must need a braver man
Than one who simply works the land.
And dreams do not repay the loan
That bought the seeds I have sown.
So I am left to walk this field
And take some thought about its yield.
I have no cause for bitterness
For mule and plow have taught me this:
What farmers and poets learn from Earth
Is how to grow the Universe.

2 comments:

  1. That reminds me of Thomas Hardy's In Time of "The Breaking of Nations"

    I

    Only a man harrowing clods
    In a slow silent walk
    With an old horse that stumbles and nods
    Half asleep as they stalk.

    II

    Only a thin smoke without flame
    From the heaps of couch-grass;
    Yet this will go onward the same
    Though Dynasties pass.

    III

    Yonder a maid and her wight
    Come whispering by:
    War’s annals will cloud into night
    Ere their story die.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for posting that, Kelly! I like Hardy's The Darkling Thrush

    ReplyDelete