The poetical works of Henry Alford | ||
173
XXXV.
['Twere better far from noon to eventide]
'Twere better far from noon to eventideTo sit and feel sad care, and fence the while
The patient spirit for unwonted toil,
Than in the calm for ever to abide;
'Twere better far to climb the mountain-side
Through perilous buffeting of wind and steep
Than in the valley-nook, charmed into sleep,
All the fair blossoms of young life to hide.
So let me labour: for 'tis labour-worth
To feel the fruits of my seed-time of tears
Shedding their fragrance over half this earth;
No mother rues the sharpest pangs of birth,
So she may see the offspring of her fears
Standing in high estate and manly years.
The poetical works of Henry Alford | ||