William Wordsworth's The Solitary Reaper Continued Poem by Gayathri Seetharam

The Solitary Reaper (Cont'd)
Gayathri B. Seetharam
I imagined her saying to herself,
Why is it that I feel so sad
When I have reaped a field full of grain
When there is so much more land
To cultivate and grow more grain in;

Is it because there are users of the grain
Or I hand it to charity to feed the poor and needy
If I, the solitary reaper, do not gain money
By my efforts at growing wheat and rice
Despite working day and night
Then it should be true
That my crop should at least be rich and wealthy
And if I can boast of wheat which can compete with the best
Then it should be that I should be a wealthy woman
Who is also celebrated for her beauty and sensuous looks;

I, the passerby, imagine her saying to herself,
Would that suffice or would I want the flower on my skirt
The apple of my and my husband's eyes, my son,
Growing corn and rye and wheat and rice
In equal abundance and rich harvest
For this would make my heart well with pride,
And I would say that the solitary reaper is happy with her family.