You think that the failures are many, You think the successes are few, But you judge by the rule of the penny, And not by the good that men do. You judge men by standards of treasure That merely obtain upon earth, When the brother you're snubbing may measure Full-length to God's standard of worth. The failures are not in the ditches, The failures are not in the ranks, They have missed the acquirement of riches, Their fortunes are not in the banks. Their virtues are never paraded, Their worth is not always in view, But they're fighting their battles unaided, And fighting them honestly, too. There are failures to-day in high places The failures aren't all in the low; There are rich men with scorn in their faces Whose homes are but castles of woe. The homes that are happy are many, And numberless fathers are true; And this is the standard, if any, By which we must judge what men do. Wherever loved ones are awaiting The toiler to kiss and caress, Though in Bradstreet's he hasn't a rating, He still is a splendid success. If the dear ones who gather about him And know what he's striving to do Have never a reason to doubt him, Is he less successful than you? You think that the failures are many, You judge by men's profits in gold; You judge by the rule of the penny -- In this true success isn't told. This falsely man's story is telling, For wealth often brings on distress, But wherever love brightens a dwelling, There lives, rich or poor, a success. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A WAR SONG TO ENGLISHMEN by WILLIAM BLAKE MEETING AT NIGHT by ROBERT BROWNING THE SKELETON OF THE FUTURE; AT LENIN'S TOMB by CHRISTOPHER MURRAY GRIEVE A SOLILOQUY; OCCASIONED BY THE CHIRPING OF A GRASSHOPPER by WALTER HARTE CARILLON by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW CASEY AT THE BAT (2) by ERNEST LAWRENCE THAYER THE SWAN SONG OF PARSON AVERY by JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER |