Success is counted sweetest
By those who ne'er succeed.
To comprehend a nectar
Requires sorest need.
Not one of all the purple Host
Who took the Flag today
Can tell the definition
So clear of Victory
As he defeated--dying--
On whose forbidden ear
The distant strains of triumph
Burst agonized and clear!
More verses by Emily Dickinson
- A Light Exists In Spring
- A Narrow Fellow In The Grass
- 'They Have Not Chosen Me,' He Said
- A Death Blow Is A Life Blow To Some
- "Houses"&Mdash;So The Wise Men Tell Me