172 <br /> <br />'Tis so much joy! 'Tis so much joy! <br />If I should fail, what poverty! <br />And yet, as poor as I, <br />Have ventured all upon a throw! <br />Have gained! Yes! Hesitated so— <br />This side the Victory! <br /> <br />Life is but Life! And Death, but Death! <br />Bliss is, but Bliss, and Breath but Breath! <br />And if indeed I fail, <br />At least, to know the worst, is sweet! <br />Defeat means nothing but Defeat, <br />No drearier, can befall! <br /> <br />And if I gain! Oh Gun at Sea! <br />Oh Bells, that in the Steeples be! <br />At first, repeat it slow! <br />For Heaven is a different thing, <br />Conjectured, and waked sudden in— <br />And might extinguish me!<br /><br />Emily Dickinson<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/tis-so-much-joy-tis-so-much-joy/
