Poem a Day XVI

Fruitions

Shall life be but a minor thing? Let it never be!
The world is not so mean, nor shall it ever be.

The fruit is one moment on the vine, then fades;
to seize it one must be keen, and thus shall it ever be.

The days go by with swiftness, but do not fail:
their fulfillments are always seen, and they shall forever be.

One must grasp them with full heart, hold them fast,
and all their glory glean; thus must it ever be.

In life is always some glorious end, like a dawn:
it has never been capped with a keen, nor shall it ever be.