Sown in Tears

Chill the air and hard the ground;

Not one ray of sun­shine lieth;

O’er the moor

with hol­low sound

Moaning low

the cold wind sigh­eth.

Sower

break the stub­born soil

Lavish in its fur­rows heap­ing;

Cease not from thy pa­tient toil

Sow the seed and wait the reap­ing.

Summer sun­shine on the hill;

Birds on ev­ery green tree sing­ing;

Shouts of joy the soft air fill

Home the har­vest they are bring­ing.

And the sow­er on the plain

His long bur­ied seed now find­ing

Mellow heaps of rip­ened grain

Into gold­en sheaves is bind­ing.

In the dark and nar­row tomb

Costlier seed we bu­ry weep­ing

And en­wrapped in qui­et gloom

Leave it to the Mas­ter’s keep­ing.

To the end we can­not see

Faith her heav’n­ly vi­sion blend­ing

We our bur­ied trea­sure greet

Sown in tears

but reaped in glo­ry.