Steel, hard to dent, once dented Is history of blows That, by the rust augmented, Barren resistance shows -- And that is all one knows. O heart I thought to harden To steel to bear the blow, You grew more like a garden Time walks and the winds sow -- And seasons come and go. The sod, where heels were twisted, Springs back at last in rain. Spots, sometimes flower-misted, Some prone earth-pressing pain First crushed where it had lain. If scars are worth the keeping The steel is rich indeed -- O heart, this wistful reaping Of restless waiting seed That flowers where you bleed! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...HAWORTH CHURCHYARD by MATTHEW ARNOLD DUTY SURVIVING SELF-LOVE; THE ONLY SURE FRIEND OF DECLINING LIFE by SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE ANSWER TO MASTER WITHER'S SONG, 'SHALL I, WASTING IN DESPAIR?' by BEN JONSON COMMEMORATION ODE READ AT HARVARD UNIVERSITY by JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL PATERNITY by WILLIAM ROSE BENET |