Defeat
Kahlil Gibran
1883 to 1931
Track 1
Reconstruct the poem by dragging each line into its correct position. Your goal is to reassemble the original poem as accurately as possible. As you move the lines, you'll see whether your arrangement is correct, helping you explore the poem's flow and meaning. You can also print out the jumbled poem to cut up and reassemble in the classroom. Either way, take your time, enjoy the process, and discover how the poet's words come together to create something truly beautiful.
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And we shall stand in the sun with a will,
Defeat, my Defeat, my solitude and my aloofness;
In your eyes I have read
Defeat, my Defeat, my shining sword and shield,
And none but you shall speak to me of the beating of wings,
And to be understood is to be leveled down,
And in you I have found aloneness
And like a ripe fruit to fall and be consumed.
That to be enthroned is to be enslaved,
Defeat, my Defeat, my self-knowledge and my defiance,
Defeat, my Defeat, my bold companion,
And to be grasped is but to reach one's fullness
And we shall be dangerous.
And sweeter to my heart than all world-glory.
You and I shall laugh together with the storm,
You shall hear my songs and my cries and my silences,
Defeat, my Defeat, my deathless courage,
And you alone shall climb my steep and rocky soul.
And not to be trapped by withering laurels.
Through you I know that I am yet young and swift of foot
And urging of seas,
And the joy of being shunned and scorned.
You are dearer to me than a thousand triumphs,
And of mountains that burn in the night,
And together we shall dig graves for all that die in us,