I Am The Reaper Poem by William Ernest Henley

I Am The Reaper

Rating: 3.2


I am the Reaper.
All things with heedful hook
Silent I gather.
Pale roses touched with the spring,
Tall corn in summer,
Fruits rich with autumn, and frail winter blossoms—
Reaping, still reaping—
All things with heedful hook
Timely I gather.

I am the Sower.
All the unbodied life
Runs through my seed-sheet.
Atom with atom wed,
Each quickening the other,
Fall through my hands, ever changing, still changeless.
Ceaselessly sowing,
Life, incorruptible life,
Flows from my seed-sheet.

Maker and breaker,
I am the ebb and the flood,
Here and Hereafter,
Sped through the tangle and coil
Of infinite nature,
Viewless and soundless I fashion all being.
Taker and giver,
I am the womb and the grave,
The Now and the Ever

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Dennis Alexander 06 February 2010

Do you know, there is so much still to learn So much still to understand? So much knowledge still to earn, So many places still to stand. Does this one have anything to do with soul? You may be Captain of your soul But still the slave of your heart

11 6 Reply
Leslie Sharp 25 January 2015

This poem has special meaning to me! It is a beautiful poem. With what I have been thru this poem meant the world to me. How it came about is a long story! I guess some would say I'm blessed some would say I'm dammed it a matter of opinion I guess. If it even matters anymore!

5 12 Reply
premji premji 29 July 2008

i am the captain of my soul!

8 6 Reply
syam chandran 21 August 2019

good poem with a deep spiritual insight

0 0 Reply
Ruta Mohapatra 22 July 2018

' I am the womb and the grave, the now and the ever'...........Profound! A memorable line!

1 2 Reply
Kiran Pillai 06 June 2018

Very nice. Beginning and the End. I love this poem

0 2 Reply
Rod Mendieta 17 January 2017

God as the ultimate Poet, imagining/seeding all creation as if always in front of a blank sheet?

3 9 Reply
Susan Williams 26 July 2016

Gorgeous words that just call to the reader to come and wallow in them, to inhale them with gratitude. He was a master poet, his poetry pieces of magnificence.

6 4 Reply
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William Ernest Henley

William Ernest Henley

Gloucester / England
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