Page:Poems of Patriotism (1942).djvu/90

 Though victory’s proof of the skill you possess,
 * Defeat is the proof of your grit;

A weakling can smile in his days of success,
 * But at trouble’s first sign he will quit.

So the test of the heart and the test of your pluck
 * Isn’t skies that are sunny and fair,

But how do you stand to the blow that is struck
 * And how do you battle despair?

A fool can seem wise when the pathway is clear
 * And it’s easy to see the way out,

But the test of man’s judgment is something to fear,
 * And what does he do when in doubt?

And the proof of his faith is the courage he shows
 * When sorrows lie deep in his breast;

It’s the way that he suffers the griefs that he knows
 * That brings out his worst or his best.