Defeat may serve as well as victory
To shake the soul and let the glory out.
When the great oak is straining in the wind,
The boughs drink in new beauty and the trunk
Sends down a deeper root on the windward side.
Only the soul that knows the mighty grief
Can know the mighty rapture, Sorrows come
To stretch out spaces in the heart for joy.
Edwin Markham
(1852-1940)
https://iswpw.net/2011/08/25/dont-know-the-name-of-this-poem-but-it-fits-this-week-apparently/
Markham was most famous for his poem “The Man with a Hoe”. It’s a good poem. Too bad they don’t teach poetry in schools anymore.
If I had the chance to teach English, I would definitely teach a lot of poetry. There’s no better way to learn the language and how it works.