The thing that is incredible is life itself. Why should we be here in this sun-illuminated universe? Why should there be green earth under our feet?

I fear the vermin that shall undermineSenate and citadel and school and shrine.

Sorrows come to stretch out places in the heart for joy.

Oft when the white, still dawn lifted the skies and pushed the hills apart, I have felt it like a glory in my heart.

No soul can be forever banned, Eternally bereft, Whoever falls from God's right hand Is caught into his left.

Ah, great it is to believe the dream as we stand in youth by the starry stream; But a greater thing is to fight life through, and at the end, 'The dream is true!'

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.