Hearken not, friend, for the resounding din <br />That did the Poet's verses once acclaim: <br />We are but gleaners in the field of fame, <br />Whence the main harvest hath been gathered in. <br />The sheaves of glory you are fain to win, <br />Long since were stored round many a household name, <br />The reapers of the Past, who timely came, <br />And brought to end what none can now begin. <br />Yet, in the stubbles of renown, 'tis right <br />To stoop and gather the remaining ears, <br />And carry homeward in the waning light <br />What hath been left us by our happier peers; <br />So that, befall what may, we be not quite <br />Famished of honour in the far-off years.<br /><br />Alfred Austin<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/gleaners-of-fame/
