The Test

(A Poem to Honor Women)

Author Unknown

The test of a woman is the fight that she makes,

The grit that she daily shows;

The way that she stands on her feet and takes

Fate’s numerous bumps and blows.

A coward can smile when there’s aught to fear,

When nothing her progress bars,

But it takes a woman to stand up and cheer

While some other lady stars.

It isn’t the victory after all,

But the fight that a sister makes;

The woman, who, driven against the wall,

Stands up erect and takes

The blows of fate with her head held high,

Bleeding and bruised and pale,

Is the woman who’ll win in the by and by,

For she isn’t afraid to fail.

It’s the bumps you get and the jolts you get

And the shocks that your courage stands,

The hours of sorrow and vain regret,

The prize that escapes your hands,

That test your mettle and prove your worth;

It isn’t the blows you deal,

But the blows you take on the good, old earth

That shows if our stuff is real.