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!

Emily Dickinson (1830 – 1886) was one of the most original American poets. She is considered one of the most important American poets of the 19th century, along with Walt Whitman.

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