My Portion Is Defeat Today
poem 639
My Portion Is Defeat Today - meaning Summary
Consequence Over Triumph
The poem contrasts defeat and victory as lived experiences rather than abstractions. Defeat is described as a persistent, tangible burden—marked by loss, physical and emotional wounds, halted hopes, and visible reminders. Victory, by contrast, appears proud and exalted, its value different for the victor and for the would-be winner who nearly died contending. The tone emphasizes consequence and the concrete costs of falling short.
Read Complete AnalysesMy Portion is Defeat today A paler luck than Victory Less Paeans fewer Bells The Drums don’t follow Me with tunes Defeat a somewhat slower means More Arduous than Balls ‘Tis populous with Bone and stain And Men too straight to stoop again , And Piles of solid Moan And Chips of Blank in Boyish Eyes And scraps of Prayer And Death’s surprise, Stamped visible in Stone There’s somewhat prouder, over there The Trumpets tell it to the Air How different Victory To Him who has it and the One Who to have had it, would have been Contender to die
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