--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: THE MEETING\" \"Scant rain had fallen and…" description: "\"“THE MEETING\" \"Scant rain had fallen and the summer sun Had scorched with waves of heat the ripening corn, That August nightfall, as I crossed the down..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b14/john-rawson-143347_countryside_the-meeting-scant-rain-had-fallen-and-th_1580942.jpg" --- # THE MEETING" "Scant rain had fallen and the summer sun Had… ![“THE MEETING" "Scant rain had fallen and the summer sun Had scorched with waves of heat the ripening corn, That August nightfall, as I crossed the down Work-weary, half in dream. Beside a fence Skirting a penning’s edge, an old man waited Motionless in the mist, with downcast head And clothing…” quote by John Rawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b14/john-rawson-143347_countryside_the-meeting-scant-rain-had-fallen-and-th_1580942.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b14/john-rawson-143347_countryside_the-meeting-scant-rain-had-fallen-and-th_1580942.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b14/john-rawson-143347_countryside_the-meeting-scant-rain-had-fallen-and-th_1580942.jpg) > ““THE MEETING" "Scant rain had fallen and the summer sun Had scorched with waves of heat the ripening corn, That August nightfall, as I crossed the down Work-weary, half in dream. Beside a fence Skirting a penning’s edge, an old man waited Motionless in the mist, with downcast head And clothing weather-worn. I asked his name And why he lingered at so lonely a place. “I was a shepherd here. Two hundred seasons I roamed these windswept downlands with my flock. No fences barred our progress and we’d travel Wherever the bite grew deep. In summer drought I’d climb from flower-banked combe to barrow’d hill-top To find a missing straggler or set snares By wood or turmon-patch. In gales of March I’d crouch nightlong tending my suckling lambs. “I was a ploughman, too. Year upon year I trudged half-doubled, hands clenched to my shafts, Guiding my turning furrow. Overhead, Cloud-patterns built and faded, many a song Of lark and pewit melodied my toil. I durst not pause to heed them, rising at dawn To groom and dress my team: by daylight’s end My boots hung heavy, clodded with chalk and flint. “And then I was a carter. With my skill I built the reeded dew-pond, sliced out hay From the dense-matted rick. At harvest time, My wain piled high with sheaves, I urged the horses Back to the master’s barn with shouts and curses Before the scurrying storm. Through sunlit days On this same slope where you now stand, my friend, I stood till dusk scything the poppied fields. “My cob-built home has crumbled. Hereabouts Few folk remember me: and though you stare Till time’s conclusion you’ll not glimpse me striding The broad, bare down with flock or toiling team. Yet in this landscape still my spirit lingers: Down the long bottom where the tractors rumble, On the steep hanging where wild grasses murmur, In the sparse covert where the dog-fox patters.” My comrade turned aside. From the damp sward Drifted a scent of melilot and thyme; From far across the down a barn owl shouted, Circling the silence of that summer evening: But in an instant, as I stepped towards him Striving to view his face, his contour altered. Before me, in the vaporous gloaming, stood Nothing of flesh, only a post of wood.”” [John Rawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rawson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A wandering laborer reflects on his many roles and the fading memory of his life as the land changes, evoking nostalgia and the persistence of spirit in a changing world. **In simple terms:** A man recounts his work and the land’s memory, feeling his spirit remains. Key Takeaway Remember the unseen labor behind everyday landscapes. Themes nostalgia memory land identity transience Mood reflective melancholic hopeful Type poetic narrative When to use this quote - agricultural work - historical reflection - environmental change - personal storytelling - cultural heritage Key Concepts rural life time legacy human connection Questions to Reflect On - What roles have you forgotten in your own life? - How does landscape shape identity? A Different Perspective The poetic form may obscure concrete details for some readers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Corn August](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corn-august-5231751/) [Countryside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/countryside/) [Downlands Flock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/downlands-flock-5972111/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Eerie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eerie/) [Harvest time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harvest-time/) [Meeting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meeting/) [Meeting Scant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meeting-scant-5972110/) [Old man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-man/) [Summer evening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/summer-evening/) [Summer sun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/summer-sun/) ## Related quotes > [“Like Indian corn in August, the "what ifs" in my life were growing fast. 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He may not have much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/take-the-example-of-sugarcane-farmers-between-harvests-a-group-mr/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The harvest moon has no innocence, like the slim quarter moon of a spring twilight, nor has it the silver penny brilliance of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-c-peattie/the-harvest-moon-has-no-innocence-like-the-slim-quarter-moon-of-a/) [Donald C. Peattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-c-peattie/) > [“which turn into grains. After harvest time, these grains are removed from the stalks by threshing them. They are then hulled in a big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-alcuaz/which-turn-into-grains-after-harvest-time-these-grains-are-removed/) [N.T. 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Declare that the good you have harvested in your life will manifest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/keep-expecting-and-believing-that-your-due-season-is-coming-declare/) [Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/) > [old pear tree starlings announce harvest time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-noble/old-pear-tree-starlings-announce-harvest-time/) [Phil Noble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-noble/) > [He thinks with regret of the great days when he could at harvest time at least go down into Hungary and work on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-reed/he-thinks-with-regret-of-the-great-days-when-he-could-at-harvest-time/) [Douglas Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-reed/) > [“The problem is not the unhappiness and disappointment you feel at harvest time; the problem is the seeds you planted last spring.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-main/the-problem-is-not-the-unhappiness-and-disappointment-you-feel-at/) [Darren Main](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-main/) > [Its those lazy days And the hazy days And the days we get stoned for just days and days. Its amazing when we get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kottonmouth-kings/its-those-lazy-days-and-the-hazy-days-and-the-days-we-get-stoned-for/) [Kottonmouth Kings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kottonmouth-kings/) > [“ample supply of water. In the Philippines, rice planting is a celebration. The soil is first prepared by the farmer and his carabao (KAH-RAH-BOW),…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-alcuaz/ample-supply-of-water-in-the-philippines-rice-planting-is-a/) [N.T. Alcuaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-alcuaz/) > [“People who found something to live and die for always live in the hope of success. They never allow doubts to create distances between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/people-who-found-something-to-live-and-die-for-always-live-in-the/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [The greatest form of maturity is at harvest time. This is when we must learn how to reap without complaint if the amounts are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/the-greatest-form-of-maturity-is-at-harvest-time-this-is-when-we-must/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [The whole of life is a journey toward youthful old age, toward self-contemplation, love, gaiety, and, in a fundamental sense, the most gratifying time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-montagu/the-whole-of-life-is-a-journey-toward-youthful-old-age-toward-self/) [Ashley Montagu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-montagu/) ## More Countryside quotes > [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/) [Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/) > [“In East Sussex, let us say, an old farm sleeps in sun-dapple, its oast-house with its cowls echoing the distant steeple of SS Andrew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-m-w-wemyss/in-east-sussex-let-us-say-an-old-farm-sleeps-in-sun-dapple-its-oast/) [G.M.W. 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I would hate to be part of the generation that allowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/britain-still-has-the-most-reliably-beautiful-countryside-of-anywhere/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [Gail Anderson-Dargatz has a noticing eye, a voice as unique as the countryside she writes about, and a heart large enough to love her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-hodgins/gail-anderson-dargatz-has-a-noticing-eye-a-voice-as-unique-as-the/) [Jack Hodgins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-hodgins/) > [What e'er you are That in this desert inaccessible, Under the shade of melancholy boughs, Lose and neglect the creeping hours of time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/what-e-er-you-are-that-in-this-desert-inaccessible-under-the-shade-of/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [There are some delightful places in this world which have a sensual charm for the eyes. 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Wemyss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-m-w-wemyss/) > [If there was the opportunity to climb a mountain, or to go ballooning, or some adventurous activity, I would always be keen to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bannister/if-there-was-the-opportunity-to-climb-a-mountain-or-to-go-ballooning/) [Roger Bannister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bannister/) [Browse all 403 Countryside quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/countryside/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“THE MEETING\" \"Scant rain had fallen and the summer sun Had scorched with waves of heat the ripening corn, That August nightfall, as I crossed the down Work-weary, half in dream. Beside a fence Skirting a penning’s edge, an old man waited Motionless in the mist, with downcast head And clothing weather-worn. I asked his name And why he lingered at so lonely a place. “I was a shepherd here. Two hundred seasons I roamed these windswept downlands with my flock. No fences barred our progress and we’d travel Wherever the bite grew deep. In summer drought I’d climb from flower-banked combe to barrow’d hill-top To find a missing straggler or set snares By wood or turmon-patch. In gales of March I’d crouch nightlong tending my suckling lambs. “I was a ploughman, too. Year upon year I trudged half-doubled, hands clenched to my shafts, Guiding my turning furrow. Overhead, Cloud-patterns built and faded, many a song Of lark and pewit melodied my toil. I durst not pause to heed them, rising at dawn To groom and dress my team: by daylight’s end My boots hung heavy, clodded with chalk and flint. “And then I was a carter. With my skill I built the reeded dew-pond, sliced out hay From the dense-matted rick. At harvest time, My wain piled high with sheaves, I urged the horses Back to the master’s barn with shouts and curses Before the scurrying storm. Through sunlit days On this same slope where you now stand, my friend, I stood till dusk scything the poppied fields. “My cob-built home has crumbled. Hereabouts Few folk remember me: and though you stare Till time’s conclusion you’ll not glimpse me striding The broad, bare down with flock or toiling team. Yet in this landscape still my spirit lingers: Down the long bottom where the tractors rumble, On the steep hanging where wild grasses murmur, In the sparse covert where the dog-fox patters.” My comrade turned aside. From the damp sward Drifted a scent of melilot and thyme; From far across the down a barn owl shouted, Circling the silence of that summer evening: But in an instant, as I stepped towards him Striving to view his face, his contour altered. 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