A few years ago, my Father had bought an anthology of poems titled: Flowers from many gardens. He told me that when he saw this book, he thought of me. The corners of the black faux leather cover of this book are torn and on the inside cover a penned message reads: “With Love from Ida – 3.5.19”. The first publication of this book was in September 1910 by Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Co. Ltd; London. The pages of this book are golden brown authenticating the time that has passed and as I turned each page I could not believe that I was holding an anthology of poems that was published over 100 years ago.
The foreword of this book reads:
“While men cultivate flowers below, God cultivates flowers above; He takes charge for the pastures of heaven. Is not the rainbow a faint vision of God’s face?” – H.D Thoreau
Here is a poem from the anthology Flowers from many gardens. Enjoy!
SOWING AND REAPING by J. C. Yule
Our field is the world! Let us forth to the sowing;
O’er valley and mountain, o’er desert and plain;
Beside the still waters thro’ cool meadows flowing,
O’er regions unblest by the dew and the rain.
Let us scatter the seed, tho’ in sorrow and weeping,
Tho’ fields should be verdureless, wintry and bare;
The Lord of the harvest hath still in His keeping,
Each see as it falls, and will guard it with care.
Then each for his reaping, and each for his mourning,
Shall sometime rejoice when the harvest is won,
And know, in the flush of eternity’s morning,
The toil, the reward and the glory are one!
Creative Talanoa 
Beautiful! Thanks for sharing…….
Hi Jenny,
Thank you for reading and posting your comment. I appreciate it.
God bless xox
God bless you too 😉
Maryanne, you have a treasure in this little book. Thank you for sharing with us. 🙂
Aww thank you for visiting my blog. It’s such a wonderful little book. Enjoy your day xox
Loved the poem Maryanne.. What a different world we live in today, we use anacronyms for everything and our languages are being “bastardized.” Forgotten are the words of meaning and description, as those found in the poems and letters of a time when all communication was basically the written word..Thank you, I’m looking forward to the others.
Thank you for reading and for providing your feedback. You are right, the English language has definitely changed over time. The language in this poem distinctly reflects the early 1900’s which is great. I am looking forward to sharing more poems from this anthology. Enjoy the rest of your week 🙂
This poem is lovely and so is your story, Maryanne! Your Father has given you a wonderful gift and thank you for sharing it with us! xo
Hi Lauren,
I appreciate you stopping by. I love my Father. It was a nice little surprise from him. I am looking forward to sharing more poems from this anthology. Thank you for your kind words.
God bless xox
Quite a lovely verse…with a positive and hopeful tone to it.
I agree with you, it is a lovely verse indeed. Despite the language difference that we may have today in comparison to what it was 100 years ago, the thought processes are basically the same in that we do hope and work towards positive things in life. Thank you for stopping by.
Maryannepale.com. From the poem I get the message that there is a world full of opportunities out there and how we utilise it really depends on each one of us. Thanks for sharing this rare treasure.
Thank you for visiting my blog. This poem is definitely a rare treasure much like the other poems in this anthology which is why I will continue to share poems from this little book. I love your take on this poem. The message in this poem is a positive one which reminds me that ultimately we have the choice each day to learn, grow and develop in all aspects of life. That at times we may be faced with issues, concerns and obstacles but the important thing is to continue to be faithful in the work that we do. Thank you for taking the time to read and provide your feedback.
A precious gift, that can last a lifetime.
Hi Sis,
Thanks for taking the time to read this post and provide your feedback. It’s always great to see you on here. 🙂
‘Ofa lahi atu xox
aaww that’s so priceless, I agree with Heimata, what a precious gift that you could pass down to your next generation
Hi Sis,
It’s nice to have both you & Heimata visit on the same day 🙂 Thank you for visiting my blog & for providing your comment. 🙂
‘Ofa lahi atu xox
Amazing.. thank you for sharing!
Thanks Robin for stopping by. I appreciate it 🙂
Beautiful, I love you’re post! the foreward and the poem, everything! I look foreward to reading more. There should be more gardners out there in the world like you and you’re father planting seeds of inspiration. He is amazing, to know his own child, her passion and to encourage that passion with such a meaningful gift. xo
Hi Hema,
Thank you for reading. I love my Dad. I was suprised with the gift because it wasn’t for any particular occasion, it was just as he had said, he saw the book & thought of me. So he thought to buy it and bring it home for me 🙂 It’s very special indeed and I look forward to sharing more poems from this little treasure. I appreciate your feedback, thank you again for visiting my blog. I truly appreciate it.
‘Ofa atu xox
my own father who,s nearly 80 is looking for this book. he remembers reading it in school and would love to have it again but we,ve tried to get it for him and have had no luck. would anyone know where we could try ?
Hi Deidre, wow that is amazing to read. I’ve had a couple of people email me about whether I knew of where to purchase a copy. My father had found the copy that I have in a book store which sold very old books. My apologies if I have not been of much help. I hope you do find a copy for your father. God bless xox
My mother has a copy of this book, it was a study book from her schooling days in Ireland in the 1940s. It appears this book must have been a core book for Irish schooling – the well-read copy she has was left to her by a friend who passed away – it was his copy from childhood.
Wow! That is amazing. Thank you for sharing. It is such a beautiful book to own. Thanks for stopping by on my blog. God bless xox