Poems (Hardy)/Crop and garden
CROP AND GARDEN
THE rent within the cloak thy neighbor wears
Forbear to see; forbear to know that bread
Comes coarse to him and served on delf, yet dread
To lose the word his life unwitting spares
For salt to thine. Forthright, as on he fares
In tranquil frame although his heart has bled,
And still aches on with tears he must not shed,
Haste with what help thou hast for all he bears.
Behold, there, how thy crop and garden grow,
Erect in sunshine, sweet in fruit and seed;
See how they give, not counting loss or gain;
They have not wicked wit enough to know
Preëminence of right above the wilding weed
To gifts of light, to treasures of the rain,
Forbear to see; forbear to know that bread
Comes coarse to him and served on delf, yet dread
To lose the word his life unwitting spares
For salt to thine. Forthright, as on he fares
In tranquil frame although his heart has bled,
And still aches on with tears he must not shed,
Haste with what help thou hast for all he bears.
Behold, there, how thy crop and garden grow,
Erect in sunshine, sweet in fruit and seed;
See how they give, not counting loss or gain;
They have not wicked wit enough to know
Preëminence of right above the wilding weed
To gifts of light, to treasures of the rain,