Success is counted sweetest (112)

Success is counted sweetest,
By those who ne’er succeed.
To comprehend a nectar
Requires sorest need.

Not one of all the purpose Host
Who took the Flag today
Can tell the definition
So clear of Victory

As he defeated – dying – 
On whose forbidden ear
The distant strains of triumph
Burst agonized and clear!

Posted in Poems by Emily Dickinson.