Tom Brady Turned To Poetry In His Latest Motivational Instagram Post

New England Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady took to Instagram to share an inspirational message about overcoming odds.

The post, which the quarterback shared late Thursday night, featured a photo with Brady and tight end Rob Gronkowski. What was more interesting though, was that the caption included Douglas Malloch’s poem “Good Timber” in its entirety.

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“The tree that never had to fight For sun and sky and air and light, But stood out in the open plain And always got its share of rain, Never became a forest king But lived and died a scrubby thing. The man who never had to toil To gain and farm his patch of soil, Who never had to win his share Of sun and sky and light and air, Never became a manly man But lived and died as he began. Good timber does not grow with ease, The stronger wind, the stronger trees, The further sky, the greater length, The more the storm, the more the strength. By sun and cold, by rain and snow, In trees and men good timbers grow. Where thickest lies the forest growth We find the patriarchs of both. And they hold counsel with the stars Whose broken branches show the scars Of many winds and much of strife. This is the common law of life” Douglas Malloch #3days

A post shared by Tom Brady (@tombrady) on Jan 31, 2019 at 6:11pm PST

This wasn’t the first time Brady’s shared this poem, that expresses the idea that working for something and battling through adversity often yields the most fruitful results.

Brady ended the Instagram post with his own personal touch, by writing “#3days.” To no one’s surprise, the post elicited thousands of comments.

Brady’s confidante Ben Rawitz wrote #lfg, with three fire emojis. Gronkowski’s brother, Chris, commented: “Damn right, fight through adversity, never get complacent and always be the the hardest worker in the room. #goatlife (three fire emojis yet again). Sports business analyst Darren Rovell said: “Gronk’s last game. Book it. Wins MVP.”

Here’s an excerpt of the poem:

“The tree that never had to fight
For sun and sky and air and light,
But stood out in the open plain
And always got its share of rain,
Never became a forest king
But lived and died a scrubby thing.

The man who never had to toil
To gain and farm his patch of soil,
Who never had to win his share
Of sun and sky and light and air,
Never became a manly man
But lived and died as he began.”