A nature that takes and never gives Really dies before it lives; A nature that gives and never takes Dreams a while before it wakes. Therefore let the dreamer rouse And learn a lesson from the cows That eat their fill the livelong day, The better to give their milk away. Therefore let the corpse be quick: It's rhythm, not arithmetic. A poplar drops its treasure-trove, The sooner to become a grove. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SONNET WRITTEN IN DISGUST OF VULGAR SUPERSTITION by JOHN KEATS SHERIDAN AT CEDAR CREEK by HERMAN MELVILLE EPODE: 2. THE PRAISES OF A COUNTRY LIFE by QUINTUS HORATIUS FLACCUS AMERICA by SAMUEL FRANCIS SMITH |