The Happy Man

If you would know a happy man,
Go find the fellow who
Has had a bout with trouble grim
And just come smiling through.
The load is off his shoulders now,
Where yesterday he frowned
And saw no joy in life, to-day
He laughs his way around.
He's done the very thing he thought
That he could never do;
His sun is shining high to-day
And all his skies are blue.
He's stronger than he was before;
Should trouble come anew
He'll know how much his strength can bear
And how much he can do.
To-day he has the right to smile,
And he may gaily sing,
For he has conquered where he feared
The pain of failure's sting.
Comparison has taught him, too,
The sweetest hours are those
Which follow on the heels of care,
With laughter and repose.
If you would meet a happy man,
Go find the fellow who
Has had a bout with trouble grim
And just come smiling through.