The Complete Poems of O. Henry. O. Henry

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      The Crucible

       Table of Contents

      HARD ye may be in the tumult,

      Red to your battle hilts,

      Blow give for blow in the foray,

      Cunningly ride in the tilts;

      But when the roaring is ended,

      Tenderly, unbeguiled,

      Turn to a woman a woman’s

      Heart, and a child’s to a child.

      Test of the man, if his worth be

      In accord with the ultimate plan,

      That he be not, to his marring,

      Always and utterly man;

      That he bring out of the tumult,

      Fitter and undefiled,

      To a woman the heart of a woman,

      To children the heart of a child.

      Good when the bugles are ranting

      It is to be iron and fire;

      Good to be oak in the foray,

      Ice to a guilty desire.

      But when the battle is over

      (Marvel and wonder the while)

      Give to a woman a woman’s

      Heart, and a child’s to a child.