Fate? I met her long ago— Met and measured will and strength. Whipped of her, I came to know How to whip herself, at length. First, I fought her, brute to brute; Every blow she smote me sore, Dazed, and mad with rage, and mute Duly struck I back the more. Striking blindly, striking hard And forever striking wide— With a broken arm for guard, With a broken head beside. So she mauled me as she would, So she bullied me the while; Till I dropped my hands and stood— Stood and whipped her with a smile! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...WHEN THE SPEED COMES by ROBERT FROST THE PRODIGAL SON by DAVID IGNATOW DOWN BY THE CARIB SEA: 1. SUNRISE IN THE TROPICS by JAMES WELDON JOHNSON JONES'S PRIVATE ARGYMENT by SIDNEY LANIER MARTHA WASHINGTON by SIDNEY LANIER FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE by EMMA LAZARUS SURFACES AND MASKS; 3 by CLARENCE MAJOR |