THE RAINBOW AND THE ROSE (Annotated)

NOW that I've nearly done my days,<br/>And grown too stiff to sweep or sew,<br/>I sit and think, till I'm amaze,<br/>About what lots of things I know:<br/>Things as I've found out one by one—<br/>And when I'm fast down in the clay,<br/>My knowing things and how they're done<br/>Will all be lost and thrown away.