The Crucible

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 the 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.

William Sydney Porter, (O Henry)

Index to poems in the collection by William Sydney Porter