The Complete Poems of O. Henry. O. Henry

      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.