Unconscious they in waste oblivion lie,
In all the world of busy life around
No thought of them; in all the bounteous sky,
No drop, for them, of kindly influence found.
Man’s portion is to die and rise again—
Yet he complains; while these unmurmuring part
With their sweet lives, as pure from sin and stain
As his when Eden held his virgin heart.
* * * * *
John Keble.