THY God permits thee, but with dreadful hand Canst churn great boulders into little sand, On fruitless tasks to waste thy summer ease, In tide washed seaweeds find a childish joy. Or -- harnessing the unruly force of sea To lick smooth stone into a fretted toy -- From thy great page, turn forth knick-knacks to please A Lilliputian fancy -- yea produce Such nice laborious fritters as could these Old chinamen whose life, by slow degrees, Frayed four and twenty peachstones into lace. Hence know that in our smallest work God sees Some service to himself, or some good use, From us yet hidden and our blinded race. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...ACCOMPLISHED FACTS by CARL SANDBURG SONNETS ATTEMPTED IN THE MANNER OF CONTEMPORARY WRITERS: 2 by SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE THE ELF AND THE DORMOUSE by OLIVER BROOK HERFORD THE DONG WITH A LUMINOUS NOSE by EDWARD LEAR ROUTE MARCH by CHARLES HAMILTON SORLEY NOW PRECEDENT SONGS, FAREWELL by WALT WHITMAN |