The Sower and his Seed

He planted an oak in his father’s park And a thought in the minds of men, And he bade farewell to his native shore, Which he never will see again. Oh merrily stream the tourist throng To the glow of the Southern sky; A vision of pleasure beckons them on, But he went there to die. The oak will grow and its boughs will spread, And many rejoice in its shade, But none will visit the distant grave, Where a stranger youth is laid; And the thought will live when the oak has died, And quicken the minds of men, But the name of the thinker has vanished away, And will never be heard again.

Collection: 
English
1858
William Edward Hartpole Lecky
Sub Title: 
Poems of Sentiment: IV. Thought: Poetry: Books

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