Poems (Sharpless)/A Parable

by Frances M. Sharpless

For works with similar titles, see A Parable.

A PARABLE

Quoth a little brown seed, "I do not knowWhy it is I must struggle and grow:When the earth is so warm, and dark, and stillI would never leave it, had I my will.

"But something urges me still away;I must strive and struggle; I cannot stay:Though what awaits me above up there,I do not know, and I do not care."

But ah! when the seed to blossom grew,Rocked by the zephyrs and fed by the dew,And gently unfolded to light and sunIts delicate flowers, one by one—

It softly sang to each laughing breeze,"Surely no blossoms were ever like these!This glory of sunshine is life indeedI could never have dreamed of, when but a seed."

And what are we, in this life of ours,But seeds of God's future-blooming flowers?Shall we murmur and grieve that we do not knowFor what He would have us struggle and grow?

Nay! we will patiently work His willMid earth's mysterious gloom, untilBeneath His sunshine, and in His landOur souls shall blossom—and understand.