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 MarkhamBowed by the weight of centuries he leans upon his hoe and gazes on the ground, the emptiness of ages in his face, and on his back the burden of the world.
Edwin MarkhamThree were the fates. Poverty that chains; gray drudgery that grinds the hope away, and gaping ignorance that starves the soul.
Edwin MarkhamOnly the soul that knows the mighty grief can know the mighty rapture. Sorrows come to stretch out spaces in the heart for joy.
Edwin MarkhamOft when the white, still dawn lifted the skies and pushed the hills apart, I have felt it like a glory in my heart.
Edwin MarkhamThe future life is where we will go on helping to bring the universe to perfection, which is God's grand ultimate aim. [The purpose of life] is to help God run the universe. Everyone in that better land will be busy all the time, and the environment will be perfect all the time for doing the work which God assigns to all.
Edwin Markham