Sweet Death

The sweetest blossoms die.         And so it was that, going day by day         Unto the church to praise and pray,     And crossing the green churchyard thoughtfully,         I saw how on the graves the flowers         Shed their fresh leaves in showers,     And how their perfume rose up to the sky         Before it passed away.     The youngest blossoms die.         They die, and fall and nourish the rich earth         From which they lately had their birth;     Sweet life, but sweeter death that passeth by         And is as though it had not been: -         All colors turn to green:     The bright hues vanish, and the odours fly,         The grass hath lasting worth.     And youth and beauty die.         So be it, O my God, Thou God of truth:         Better than beauty and than youth     Are Saints and Angels, a glad company;         And Thou, O lord, our Rest and Ease,         Are better far than these.     Why should we shrink from our full harvest? why         Prefer to glean with Ruth?