25. Flowers the more exquisite

               My Lord,
Just as the reosebush that is pruned
Offers flowers the more exquisite,
And the river that is blocked
Channels a more daring course,
So the brutal rebuffs
          Of blind ingratitude
     Call forth from You
          A brighter Light, broader Smile
               And mightier Delight.

Fed a year-long diet of futile failure,
     Your Life-Tree bursts forth
In a profusion of flaming
     Fragrance-beauty-blossoms.