 | Jones Very : The Complete Poems |  |
223
Decay
Disease that on thy body feeds
Is but decay beneath the ground,
That slowly eats the buried seeds,
That green above they may be found.
Is but decay beneath the ground,
That slowly eats the buried seeds,
That green above they may be found.
Thou canst not live, save the low earth
Be quickened by the sun and rain,
To give thee everlasting birth,
And change the form thou wouldst retain.
Be quickened by the sun and rain,
To give thee everlasting birth,
And change the form thou wouldst retain.
Wouldst thou rejoice with budding stem,
When spring anew uncurls the leaf,—
When summer comes gain strength like them,
And laden be with autumn's sheaf:
When spring anew uncurls the leaf,—
When summer comes gain strength like them,
And laden be with autumn's sheaf:
Then with them bear that slow decay;
It visits you with mouldering grain;
And thou shalt spring anew as they
To die and find thy life again.
It visits you with mouldering grain;
And thou shalt spring anew as they
To die and find thy life again.
Poem No. 100; late 1838-early 1840
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