Poems of Power by Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Download PDF

American Literature – American Poetry – Ella Wheeler Wilcox – Poems by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
< < < Poems of Passion
Custer, and Other Poems > > >

Poems of Power

The Queen’s Last Ride # of Power
The Queen is taking a drive to-day,
They have hung with purple the carriage-way,
They have dressed with purple the royal track … Continue Reading …

The Meeting Of The Centuries # of Power
A curious vision on mine eyes unfurled
In the deep night. I saw, or seemed to see,
Two Centuries meet, and sit down vis-à-vis … Continue Reading …

Death Has Crowned Him A Martyr # of Power
In the midst of sunny waters, lo! the mighty Ship of State
Staggers, bruised and torn and wounded by a derelict of fate,
One that drifted from its moorings in the anchorage of hate. … Continue Reading …

Grief # of Power
As the funeral train with its honoured dead
On its mournful way went sweeping,
While a sorrowful nation bowed its head … Continue Reading …

Illusion # of Power
God and I in space alone
And nobody else in view.
“And where are the people, O Lord,” I said, … Continue Reading …

Assertion # of Power
I am serenity. Though passions beat
Like mighty billows on my helpless heart,
I know beyond them lies the perfect sweet … Continue Reading …

I Am # of Power
I know not whence I came,
I know not whither I go;
But the fact stands clear that I am here … Continue Reading …

Wishing # of Power
Do you wish the world were better?
Let me tell you what to do:
Set a watch upon your actions, … Continue Reading …

We Two # of Power
We two make home of any place we go;
We two find joy in any kind of weather;
Or if the earth is clothed in bloom or snow, … Continue Reading …

The Poet’s Theme # of Power
Why should the poet of these pregnant times
Be asked to sing of war’s unholy crimes? … Continue Reading …

Song Of The Spirit # of Power
All the aim of life is just
Getting back to God.
Spirit casting off its dust, … Continue Reading …

Womanhood # of Power
She must be honest, both in thought and deed,
Of generous impulse, and above all greed;
Not seeking praise, or place, or power, or pelf, … Continue Reading …

Morning Prayer # of Power
Let me to-day do something that shall take
A little sadness from the world’s vast store,
And may I be so favoured as to make … Continue Reading …

The Voices Of The People # of Power
Oh! I hear the people calling through the day time and the night time,
They are calling, they are crying for the coming of the right time.
It behooves you, men and women, it behooves you to be heeding, … Continue Reading …

The World Grows Better # of Power
Oh! the earth is full of sinning
And of trouble and of woe,
But the devil makes an inning … Continue Reading …

A Man’s Ideal # of Power
A lovely little keeper of the home,
Absorbed in menu books, yet erudite
When I need counsel; quick at repartee … Continue Reading …

The Fire Brigade # of Power
Hark! high o’er the rattle and clamour and clatter
Of traffic-filled streets, do you hear that loud noise?
And pushing and rushing to see what’s the matter, … Continue Reading …

The Tides # of Power
Be careful what rubbish you toss in the tide.
On outgoing billows it drifts from your sight,
But back on the incoming waves it may ride … Continue Reading …

When The Regiment Came Back # of Power
All the uniforms were blue, all the swords were bright and new,
When the regiment went marching down the street,
All the men were hale and strong as they proudly moved along, … Continue Reading …

Woman To Man # of Power
You do but jest, sir, and you jest not well,
How could the hand be enemy of the arm,
Or seed and sod be rivals! How could light … Continue Reading …

The Traveller # of Power
Reply to Rudyard Kipling’s “He travels the fastest who travels alone.”
Who travels alone with his eyes on the heights,
Though he laughs in the day time oft weeps in the nights; … Continue Reading …

The Earth # of Power
The earth is yours and mine,
Our God’s bequest.
That testament divine … Continue Reading …

Now # of Power
I leave with God to-morrow’s where and how,
And do concern myself but with the Now,
That little word, though half the future’s length, … Continue Reading …

You And To-Day # of Power
With every rising of the sun
Think of your life as just begun. … Continue Reading …

The Reason # of Power
Do you know what moves the tides
As they swing from low to high?
’Tis the love, love, love, … Continue Reading …

Mission # of Power
If you are sighing for a lofty work,
If great ambitions dominate your mind,
Just watch yourself and see you do not shirk … Continue Reading …

Repetition # of Power
Over and over and over
These truths I will weave in song—
That God’s great plan needs you and me, … Continue Reading …

Begin The Day # of Power
Begin each morning with a talk to God,
And ask for your divine inheritance
Of usefulness, contentment, and success. … Continue Reading …

Words # of Power
Words are great forces in the realm of life:
Be careful of their use. Who talks of hate,
Of poverty, of sickness, but sets rife … Continue Reading …

Fate And I # of Power
Wise men tell me thou, O Fate,
Art invincible and great. … Continue Reading …

Attainment # of Power
Use all your hidden forces. Do not miss
The purpose of this life, and do not wait
For circumstance to mould or change your fate; … Continue Reading …

A Plea To Peace # of Power
When mighty issues loom before us, all
The petty great men of the day seem small,
Like pigmies standing in a blaze of light … Continue Reading …

Presumption # of Power
Whenever I am prone to doubt or wonder—
I check myself, and say, “That mighty One
Who made the solar system cannot blunder— … Continue Reading …

High Noon # of Power
Time’s finger on the dial of my life
Points to high noon! and yet the half-spent day
Leaves less than half remaining, for the dark, … Continue Reading …

Thought-Magnets # of Power
With each strong thought, with every earnest longing
For aught thou deemest needful to thy soul,
Invisible vast forces are set thronging … Continue Reading …

Smiles # of Power
Smile a little, smile a little,
As you go along,
Not alone when life is pleasant, … Continue Reading …

The Undiscovered Country # of Power
Man has explored all countries and all lands,
And made his own the secrets of each clime.
Now, ere the world has fully reached its prime, … Continue Reading …

The Universal Route # of Power
As we journey along, with a laugh and a song,
We see, on youth’s flower-decked slope,
Like a beacon of light, shining fair on the sight, … Continue Reading …

Unanswered Prayers # of Power
Like some schoolmaster, kind in being stern,
Who hears the children crying o’er their slates
And calling, “Help me, master!” yet helps not, … Continue Reading …

Thanksgiving # of Power
We walk on starry fields of white
And do not see the daisies,
For blessings common in our sight … Continue Reading …

Contrasts # of Power
I see the tall church steeples—
They reach so far, so far;
But the eyes of my heart see the world’s great mart … Continue Reading …

Thy Ship # of Power
Hadst thou a ship, in whose vast hold lay stored
The priceless riches of all climes and lands,
Say, wouldst thou let it float upon the seas … Continue Reading …

Life # of Power
All in the dark we grope along,
And if we go amiss
We learn at least which path is wrong, … Continue Reading …

A Marine Etching # of Power
A yacht from its harbour ropes pulled free,
And leaped like a steed o’er the race-track blue, … Continue Reading …

Love Thyself Last # of Power
Love thyself last. Look near, behold thy duty
To those who walk beside thee down life’s road.
Make glad their days by little acts of beauty … Continue Reading …

Christmas Fancies # of Power
When Christmas bells are swinging above the fields of snow,
We hear sweet voices ringing from lands of long ago,
And etched on vacant places … Continue Reading …

The River # of Power
I am a river flowing from God’s sea
Through devious ways. He mapped my course for me;
I cannot change it; mine alone the toil … Continue Reading …

Sorry # of Power
There is much that makes me sorry as I journey down life’s way,
And I seem to see more pathos in poor human lives each day.
I’m sorry for the strong, brave men who shield the weak from harm, … Continue Reading …

Ambition’s Trail # of Power
If all the end of this continuous striving
Were simply to attain,
How poor would seem the planning and contriving, … Continue Reading …

Uncontrolled # of Power
The mighty forces of mysterious space
Are one by one subdued by lordly man.
The awful lightning that for eons ran … Continue Reading …

Will # of Power
You will be what you will to be;
Let failure find its false content
In that poor word “environment,” … Continue Reading …

To An Astrologer # of Power
Nay, seer, I do not doubt thy mystic lore,
Nor question that the tenor of my life,
Past, present, and the future, is revealed … Continue Reading …

The Tendril’s Fate # of Power
Under the snow, in the dark and the cold,
A pale little sprout was humming;
Sweetly it sang, ’neath the frozen mould, … Continue Reading …

The Times # of Power
The times are not degenerate. Man’s faith
Mounts higher than of old. No crumbling creed
Can take from the immortal soul the need … Continue Reading …

The Question # of Power
Beside us in our seeking after pleasures,
Through all our restless striving after fame,
Through all our search for worldly gains and treasures, … Continue Reading …

Sorrow’s Uses # of Power
The uses of sorrow I comprehend
Better and better at each year’s end. … Continue Reading …

If # of Power
’Twixt what thou art, and what thou wouldst be, let
No “If” arise on which to lay the blame.
Man makes a mountain of that puny word, … Continue Reading …

Which Are You? # of Power
There are two kinds of people on earth to-day;
Just two kinds of people, no more, I say. … Continue Reading …

The Creed To Be # of Power
Our thoughts are moulding unmade spheres,
And, like a blessing or a curse,
They thunder down the formless years, … Continue Reading …

Inspiration # of Power
Not like a daring, bold, aggressive boy,
Is inspiration, eager to pursue,
But rather like a maiden, fond, yet coy, … Continue Reading …

The Wish # of Power
Should some great angel say to me to-morrow,
“Thou must re-tread thy pathway from the start,
But God will grant, in pity, for thy sorrow, … Continue Reading …

Three Friends # of Power
Of all the blessings which my life has known,
I value most, and most praise God for three:
Want, Loneliness, and Pain, those comrades true, … Continue Reading …

You Never Can Tell # of Power
You never can tell when you send a word,
Like an arrow shot from a bow
By an archer blind, be it cruel or kind, … Continue Reading …

Here And Now # of Power
Here, in the heart of the world,
Here, in the noise and the din,
Here, where our spirits were hurled … Continue Reading …

Unconquered # of Power
However skilled and strong art thou, my foe,
However fierce is thy relentless hate,
Though firm thy hand, and strong thy aim, and straight … Continue Reading …

All That Love Asks # of Power
   “All that I ask,” says Love, “is just to stand
   And gaze, unchided, deep in thy dear eyes;
   For in their depths lies largest Paradise. … Continue Reading …

Does It Pay? # of Power
If one poor burdened toiler o’er life’s road,
Who meets us by the way,
Goes on less conscious of his galling load, … Continue Reading …

Sestina # of Power
I wandered o’er the vast green plains of youth,
And searched for Pleasure. On a distant height
Fame’s silhouette stood sharp against the skies. … Continue Reading …

The Optimist # of Power
The fields were bleak and sodden.
Not a wing
Or note enlivened the depressing wood; … Continue Reading …

The Pessimist # of Power
The pessimistic locust, last to leaf,
Though all the world is glad, still talks of grief.

An Inspiration # of Power
However the battle is ended,
Though proudly the victor comes
With fluttering flags and prancing nags … Continue Reading …

Life’s Harmonies # of Power
Let no man pray that he know not sorrow,
Let no soul ask to be free from pain,
For the gall of to-day is the sweet of to-morrow, … Continue Reading …

Preparation # of Power
We must not force events, but rather make
The heart soil ready for their coming, as
The earth spreads carpets for the feet of Spring, … Continue Reading …

Gethsemane # of Power
In golden youth when seems the earth
A Summer-land of singing mirth,
When souls are glad and hearts are light, … Continue Reading …

God’s Measure # of Power
God measures souls by their capacity
For entertaining his best Angel, Love.
Who loveth most is nearest kin to God, … Continue Reading …

Noblesse Oblige # of Power
I hold it the duty of one who is gifted
And specially dowered in all men’s sight,
To know no rest till his life is lifted … Continue Reading …

Through Tears # of Power
An artist toiled over his pictures;
He laboured by night and by day,
He struggled for glory and honour … Continue Reading …

What We Need # of Power
What does our country need? No armies standing
With sabres gleaming ready for the fight;
Not increased navies, skilful and commanding, … Continue Reading …

Plea To Science # of Power
O Science, reaching backward through the distance,
Most earnest child of God,
Exposing all the secrets of existence, … Continue Reading …

Respite # of Power
The mighty conflict, which we call existence,
Doth wear upon the body and the soul,
Our vital forces wasted in resistance, … Continue Reading …

Song # of Power
O praise me not with your lips, dear one!
Though your tender words I prize.
But dearer by far is the soulful gaze … Continue Reading …

My Ships # of Power
If all the ships I have at sea
Should come a-sailing home to me,
Ah, well! the harbour could not hold … Continue Reading …

Her Love # of Power
The sands upon the ocean side
That change about with every tide,
And never true to one abide, … Continue Reading …

If # of Power
Dear love, if you and I could sail away,
With snowy pennons to the winds unfurled,
Across the waters of some unknown bay, … Continue Reading …

Love’s Burial # of Power
Let us clear a little space,
And make Love a burial-place. … Continue Reading …

Love Is Enough # of Power
Love is enough. Let us not ask for gold.
Wealth breeds false aims, and pride, and selfishness;
In those serene, Arcadian days of old … Continue Reading …

Life Is A Privilege # of Power
Life is a privilege. Its youthful days
Shine with the radiance of continuous Mays.
To live, to breathe, to wonder and desire, … Continue Reading …

Insight # of Power
Sirs, when you pity us, I say
You waste your pity. Let it stay,
Well corked and stored upon your shelves, … Continue Reading …

A Woman’s Answer # of Power
You call me an angel of love and of light,
A being of goodness and heavenly fire,
Sent out from God’s kingdom to guide you aright, … Continue Reading …

The World’s Need # of Power
So many gods, so many creeds,
So many paths that wind and wind, … Continue Reading …

< < < Poems of Passion
Custer, and Other Poems > > >

American Literature – American Poetry – Ella Wheeler Wilcox – Poems by Ella Wheeler Wilcox

If you liked this article, subscribe , put likes, write comments!

Share on social networks

Visit us on Facebook or Twitter

Check out Our Latest Posts

Poems of Power

Leave a comment Cancel reply