When I compare
What I have lost with what I have gained,
What I have missed with what attained,
Little room do I find for pride.
I am aware
How many days have been idly spent;
How like an arrow the good intent
Has fallen short or been turned aside.
But who shall dare
To measure loss and gain in this wise?
Defeat may be victory in disguise;
The lowest ebb is the turn of the tide.
Little room do i find for pride. With the ride of life! Nice piece of work.
Longfellow's has woven magic with the myriad simplicity of life!
Every human being is like a drop of water in a moving ocean. Moreover, each inner introspection has a complex meaning to understand this ephemeral evolution in a society containing different people in different periods of time.
Sometimes we humans can get a little too goal-oriented. When you're pressing onward, upward, you are focused on the goal and what will help you get to the goal. It is better to have - -idle- - time in which we can relax, read, watch a bird troll for a worm, watch our children play tiddly-winks, pray, ..... all those idle activities that fill our souls with good things. There is gain to be had in such things. Love Longfellow.
When I compare What I have lost with what I have gained, What I have missed with what attained, Little room do I find for pride. A great poem with high philosophy!