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Emily Dickinson's Collected Poems

Part Four: Time and Eternity 79. Of tribulation these are they

SAVED!


Of tribulation these are they

Denoted by the white;

The spangled gowns, a lesser rank

Of victors designate.


All these did conquer; but the ones

Who overcame most times

Wear nothing commoner than snow,

No ornament but palms.


Surrender is a sort unknown

On this superior soil;

Defeat, an outgrown anguish,

Remembered as the mile


Our panting ankle barely gained

When night devoured the road;

But we stood whispering in the house,

And all we said was "Saved"!