The Poetry Corner

Inscription For A Stone Erected At The Sowing Of A Grove Of Oaks At Chillington, The Seat Of T. Giffard, Esq., 1790.

By William Cowper

Other stones the era tell When some feeble mortal fell; I stand here to date the birth Of these hardy sons of earth. Which shall longest brave the sky, Storm and frostthese oaks or I? Pass an age or two away, I must moulder and decay, But the years that crumble me Shall invigorate the tree, Spread its branch, dilate its size, Lift its summit to the skies. Cherish honour, virtue, truth, So shalt thou prolong thy youth. Wanting these, however fast Man be fixd and formd to last, He is lifeless even now, Stone at heart, and cannot grow.