First Georgic [Excerpt] Poem by Virgil

First Georgic [Excerpt]

Rating: 3.8


When spring begins and the ice-locked streams begin
To flow down from the snowy hills above
And the clods begin to crumble in the breeze,
The time has come for my groaning ox to drag
My heavy plow across the fields, so that
The plow blade shines as the furrow rubs against it.
Not till the earth has been twice plowed, so twice
Exposed to sun and twice to coolness will
It yield what the farmer prays for; then will the barn
Be full to bursting with the gathered grain,
And yet if the field's unknown and new to us,
Before our plow breaks open the soil at all,
It's necessary to study the ways of the winds
And the changing ways of the skies, and also to know
The history of the planting in that ground,
What crops will prosper there and what will not.
In one place grain grows best, in another, vines;
Another's good for the cultivation of trees;
In still another the grain turns green unbidden.

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Ratnakar Mandlik 15 October 2016

A beautifully envisioned meaningful poem throwing light on different aspects of agriculture and harvesting related with the soil and it's chemistry along with climatic conditions. Thanks for sharing it here.

0 1 Reply
Mizzy ........ 15 October 2016

A powerful poem from one of the Greats!

3 0 Reply
M Asim Nehal 15 October 2016

A well thoughtful poem, - Some lessons to learn. The history of the planting in that ground, What crops will prosper there and what will not. In one place grain grows best, in another, vines; Another's good for the cultivation of trees; In still another the grain turns green unbidden.

4 0 Reply
Akachukwu Lekwauwa 15 October 2016

i love these lines... Not till the earth has been twice plowed, so twice Exposed to sun and twice to coolness will It yield what the farmer prays for; then will the barn Be full to bursting with the gathered grain,

3 0 Reply
Edward Kofi Louis 15 October 2016

The changing ways of the skies! Thanks for sharing this poem with us.

3 0 Reply
READ THIS POEM IN OTHER LANGUAGES
Virgil

Virgil

Andes / Cisalpine Gaul
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