 | Jones Very : The Complete Poems |  |
The Flesh
The Flesh bears early fruit; most eat of it,And many die who eat e'en that too soon;
They fade like flowers the morning's sunbeam lit,
But wilted fall before the heat of noon;
Behold the friends and children born to be
But blossoms overtaken by the frost;
Put forth ere in the limbs the sap ran free,
Or spring gave signs that winter's strength was lost;
See houses fires and creeping age consume,
And fields the weed and thistle boast as theirs;
These, blazing up, the night's dark face illume,
And those, the garden whence they reap but tares.
Alas! how soon have vanished those the eye
Looked fondly on; green fields and houses high!
Poem No. 497; late 1838-early 1840
| Jones Very : The Complete Poems | |