Tests of Life

From the Omaha Daily Bee, January 19, 1915. By Minedith Hurst.

The severest tests of the elements
    Produce the old oak tree—
King—with a forest’s reverence,
    Enwrapped in majesty.

Nor yet supreme, for needs must he
    Maintain his monarchy.
So let the storms rage wild and free,
    And winds blow wrathfully.

Strong characters in life evolve
    Through constant stress and pain,
And only by perpetual strife
    May they that height sustain.