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In her own words

Success is counted sweetest

Emily Dickinson · 1830-1886

Success – is counted sweetestBy those who ne'er succeed –To comprehend a NectarRequires sorest need –
Not one of all the Purple HostWho took the Flag – todayCan tell the Definitionso clear, of Victory –
As He – defeated – dying –On whose forbidden EarThe distant strains of triumphBurst – agonized – and Clear!

See it in her own handBoston Public Library, page 1 of 2

The poems here are transcribed from Dickinson's own manuscripts, which are in the public domain. Her dashes, capital letters, and spellings are kept as she wrote them, so these read differently from the smoothed versions printed after her death. The manuscript images are reproduced courtesy of the libraries that hold them: the Boston Public Library (no known copyright restrictions), Amherst College Archives and Special Collections (free for non-commercial and educational use, with credit), and the Houghton Library at Harvard University, whose policy permits publishing images of its public-domain holdings. The modern dash-faithful scholarly editions remain under copyright and are not used here.