The earth builds on the earth <br />Castles and towers; <br />The earth saith of the earth: <br />All shall be ours. <br /> <br />Yea, though they plan and reap <br />The rye and the corn, <br />Lo, they were bond to Sleep <br />Ere they were born. <br /> <br />Yea, though the blind earth sows <br />For the fruit and the sheaf, <br />They shall harvest the leaf of the rose <br />And the dust of the leaf. <br /> <br />Pride of the sword and power <br />Are theirs at their need <br />Who shall rule but the root of the flower <br />The fall of the seed. <br /> <br />They who follow the flesh <br />In splendour and tears, <br />They shall rest and clothe them afresh <br />In the fulness of years. <br /> <br />From the dream of the dust they came <br />As the dawn set free. <br />They shall pass as the flower of the flame <br />Or the foam of the sea. <br /> <br />The earth builds on the earth <br />Castles and towers. <br />The earth saith of the earth: <br />All shall be ours.<br /><br />Marjorie Lowry Christie Pickthall<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/a-saxon-epitaph/
