Failures...

    by Edgar Guest

    'Tis better to have tried in vain, 
    Sincerely striving for a goal, 
    Than to have lived upon the plain 
    An idle and a timid soul. 

    'Tis better to have fought and spent 
    Your courage, missing all applause, 
    Than to have lived in smug content 
    And never ventured for a cause. 

    For he who tries and fails may be 
    The founder of a better day; 
    Though never his the victory, 
    From him shall others learn the way. 
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