Far richer than a thornless rose
Whose branch with beauty never glows,
Is that which every June adorns
With perfect bloom among its thorns.
Merely to live without a pain
Is little gladness, little gain,
Ah, welcome joy tho' mixt with grief,
The thorn-set flower that crowns the leaf.
Thorn And Rose
written byHenry Van Dyke
© Henry Van Dyke