Around the Year with Ella Wheeler Wilcox

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All the aim of life is just
Getting back to God.
Spirit casting off its dust,
Getting back to God.
Every grief we have to bear,
Disappointment, cross, despair,
Each is but another stair,
Getting back to God.

SONG OF THE SPIRIT

All the aim of life is just
Getting back to God.
Spirit casting off its dust,
Getting back to God.
Every grief we have to bear,
Disappointment, cross, despair,
Each is but another stair
Climbing back to God.

Step by step and mile by mile,--
Getting back to God.
Nothing else is worth the while--
Getting back to God.
Light and shadow fill each day,
Joys and sorrows pass away,
Smile at all, and smiling, say,
Getting back to God.

Do not wear a mournful face
Getting back to God.
Scatter sunshine on the place
Going back to God.
Take what pleasure you can find,
But where'er your paths may wind,
Keep the purpose well in mind,--
Getting back to God.

Poems of Power by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Chicago : W. B. Conkey, 1902.

1st ~ Go to the Ella's DivineJournal.com page

I want more lives in which to love
This world so full of beauty.
I want more days to use the ways
I know of doing duty.

COLEUR DE ROSE

I want more lives in which to love
This world so full of beauty,
I want more days to use the ways
I know of doing duty;

I ask no greater joy than this
(So much I am life's lover,)
When I reach age to turn the page
And read the story over,
(Oh love stay near!)

Oh rapturous promise of the Spring!
Oh June fulfilling after!
If Autumns sigh, when Summers die,
'Tis drowned in Winter's laughter.
Oh maiden dawns, oh wifely noons,
Oh siren sweet, sweet nights,
I'd want no heaven could earth be given
Again with its delights,
(If love stayed near!)

There are such glories for the eye,
Such pleasures for the ear,
The senses reel with all they feel
And see and taste and hear;
There are such ways of doing good,
Such ways of being kind,
And bread that's cast on waters fast
Comes home again, I find.
(Oh love stay near.)

There are such royal souls to know,
There is so much to learn,
While secrets rest in Nature's breast
And unnamed stars still burn.
God toiled six days to make this earth,
I think the good folks say--
Six lives we need to give full meed
Of praise--one for each day,
(If love stay near.)

But oh! if love fled far away,
Or veiled his face from me,
One life too much, why then were such
A life as this would be.
With sullen May and blighted June
Blurred dawn and haggard night,
This dear old world in space were hurled
If love lent not his light.
(Oh love stay near.)

Poems of sentiment by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Chicago, IL : W. B. Conkey Company, c1906.

 

2nd ~ Go to the Ella's DivineJournal.com page

 

Despondency is one phase of immorality. It
is blasphemous and an insult to the Creator.

Thought Force.

our spirit and mine are both part
of the stupendous cause. We have
always been, and always will be.
First in one form, then in another.
Every thought, word and deed
is helping decide your next place
in the Creator's magnificent universe. You will
be beautiful or ugly, wise or ignorant, fortunate
or unfortunate, according to what use you make
of yourself here and now.
Unselfish thoughts, training your mind to de-
sire only universal good, the cultivation of the
highest attributes, such as love, honesty, grati-
tude, faith, reverence and good will, all mean a
life of usefulness and happiness in another incar-
nation, as well as satisfaction and self-respect in
this sphere.
Even if you escape the immediate results of
the opposite course of action here, you must face
the law of cause and effect in the next state. It
is inevitable. God, the maker of all things, does
not change His laws. "As you sow you reap."
"As a man thinketh so is he." There is no "re-
venge" in God's mind. He simply makes His
laws, and we work our destinies for good or ill
according to our adherence to them or violation
of them.
Each one of us is a needed part of His great
plan. Let each soul say: "He has need of me or
I would not be. I am here to strengthen the
plan." Remember that always in your most dis-
couraged hours.
The Creator makes no mistakes.
There is a divine purpose in your being on
earth. Think of yourself as necessary to the
great design. It is an inspiring thought. And
then consider the immensity of the universe and
how accurately the Maker planned it all.
Do not associate with pessimists. If you are
unfortunate enough to be the son or daughter
husband or wife of one, put cotton (either real
or spiritual) in your ears, and shut out the poi-
son words of discouragement and despondency.
No tie of blood or law should compel you to
listen to what means discomfort and disaster to
you.
Get out and away, into the society of optim-
istic people.
Before you go, insist on saying cheerful, hope-
ful and bright things, sowing the seed, as it were,
in the mental ground behind you. But do not sit
down to see it grow.
Never feel that it is your duty to stay closely
and continously in the atmosphere of the despondent.
You might as well think it your duty to stay
in deep water with one who would not make the
least effort to swim.
Get on shore and throw out a life-line, but do
dot remain and be dragged under.
If you find any one determined to talk failure
and sickness and misfortune and disaster, walk
away.
You would not permit the dearest person on
earth to administer slow poison to you if you
knew it. Then why think it your duty to take
mental potions which paralyze your courage and
kill your ambition?
Despondency is one phase of immorality. It
is blasphemous and an insult to the Creator.

You are justified in avoiding the people who
send you from their presence with less hope and
force and strength to cope with life's problems
than when you met them.
Do what you can to change their current of
thought. But do not associate intimately with
them until they have learned to keep silent-- at
least, if they cannot speak hopefully.
Learn how to walk, how to poise your body,
how to breathe, how to hold your head, how to
focus your mind on things of universal import-
ance. Believe your tender, loving thoughts and
wishes for good to all humanity have power
to help the struggling souls of earth to rise to
higher and better conditions. No matter how
limited your sphere of action may seem to you
and how small your town appears on the map,
if you develop your mental and spiritual forces
through love thoughts you can be a power to move
the world along. Rise up and realize your strength.
Not only will you be more useful and happy, but
you will grow more beautiful and keep your
youth.

The Heart of the New Thought by Ella Wheeler Wilcox.
Chicago : The Psychic Research Company, c1902.

3rd ~ Go to the Ella's DivineJournal.com page

We have not time for that, my friend.
The night is nearer than we know;
To stop and deal out blow for blow
Will hinder sorely in the end.

UPON THE WAY

For pausing on the way awhile
To make some other pilgrim smile,
E'en though it puts us back a mile,
We've time enough for that, my friend.
The day is long, and bright, and glad;
To stop a bit and cheer the sad,
Will never hinder in the end.

To loiter ever now and then,
To answer bitter words of men,
And give for scoff a scoff again,
We have not time for that, my friend.
The night is nearer than we know;
To stop and deal out blow for blow
Will hinder sorely in the end.

For pausing sometimes on the way,
And seeking some who've gone astray,
Restoring them to light and day,
We've time enough to spare, my friend.
To stop and lift some other's load,
Will lighten ours upon the road,
And can but help us in the end.

To linger by the road and wait
Some season to retaliate
For every spiteful act of hate,
We have no time to spare, my friend.
To stone each barking dog we hear,
To kill each insect flying near,
Will only hinder in the end.

To sum it up in words like these,
We've time to praise, but none to tease;
We've time to soothe, and time to please,
But none to grieve or wound, my friend.
And if we wisely spend each day,
We'll find true pleasure on the way,
And God will help us to the end.

Maurine by Ella Wheeler
Milwaukee: Cramer, Aikens & Cramer, 1876.

 

4th ~ Go to the Ella's DivineJournal.com page

 

The first moment on waking, no matter what your
mood, say to yourself: "I will get all the comfort and
pleasure possible out of this day, and I will do some-
thing to add to the measure of the world's happiness
and well-being."

Morning Influences

at do you think about the very
first thing in the morning?
Your thoughts during the first
half-hour of the morning will
greatly influence the entire day.
You may not realize this, but it is
nevertheless a fact.
If you set out with worry, and depression,
and bitterness of soul toward fate or man, you
are giving the key note to a day of discords and
misfortunes.
If you think peace, hope and happiness, you
are sounding a note of harmony and success.
The result may not be felt at once, but it
will not fail to make itself evident eventually.
Control your morning thoughts. You can do it.
The first moment on waking, no matter what
your mood, say to yourself: "I will get all the
comfort and pleasure possible out of this day,
and I will do something to add to the measure of
the world's happiness or well-being.
I will con-
trol myself when tempted to be irritable or un-
happy, I will look for the bright side of every
event."
Once you say these things over to yourself in
a calm, earnest way, you will begin to feel more
cheerful. The worries and troubles of the com-
ing day will seem less colossal.
Then say: "I shall be given help to meet
anything that comes to-day. Everything will be
for the best. I shall succeed in whatever I
undertake. I cannot fail."
Do not let it discourage you if the moment
you leave your room you encounter a trouble or
a disaster. This usually happens. When we
make any boasts, spiritually or physically, we
are put to the test. The occult forces about us
are not unlike human beings. When a school-
boy boasts of his strength, and says he can "lick
any boy in school," he generally gets a chance
to prove it.
When we declare we are brave enough to
overcome any fate, we find our strength put to
the test at once.
But that is all right. Prove your words to
be true. Regard the troubles and cares you en-
counter as the "punching bags" of fate, given
you to develop your spiritual muscle.
Go at them with courage and keep to your
morning resolve.
By and by the troubles will lessen, and you
will find yourself master of Circumstances.

The Heart of the New Thought by Ella Wheeler Wilcox.
Chicago : The Psychic Research Company, c1902.

5th ~ Go to the Ella's DivineJournal.com page

Smile a little, smile a little,
As you go along,
Not alone when life is pleasant,
But when things go wrong.
Care delights to see you frowning,
Loves to hear you sigh;
Turn a smiling face upon her,
Quick the dame will fly!

SMILES

Smile a little, smile a little,
As you go along,
Not alone when life is pleasant,
But when things go wrong.
Care delights to see you frowning,
Loves to hear you sigh;
Turn a smiling face upon her,
Quick the dame will fly.

Smile a little, smile a little,
All along the road;
Every life must have its burden,
Every heart its load.
Why sit down in gloom and darkness,
With your grief to sup?
As you drink Fate's bitter tonic
Smile across the cup.

Smile upon the troubled pilgrims
Whom you pass and meet;
Frowns are thorns, and smiles are blossoms
Oft for weary feet.
Do not make the way seem harder
By a sullen face,
Smile a little, smile a little,
Brighten up the place.

Smile upon your undone labor;
Not for one who grieves
O'er his task, waits wealth or glory;
He who smiles achieves.
Though you meet with loss and sorrow
In the passing years,
Smile a little, smile a little,
Even through your tears.

Poetical works of Ella Wheeler Wilcox. by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Edinburgh : W. P. Nimmo, Hay, & Mitchell, 1917.

 

6th ~ Go to the Ella's DivineJournal.com page

Who most achieves is most like God, I hold;
The idler is the black sheep in the fold

LOVE IS ALL!

Let Labor boldly walk abroad
And take its place with kings,
For who has labored more than God,
The maker of all things?

The time has come, aye, even now it is,
To rank that parable in Genesis
Of God's great curse of labor placed on man,
With other fairy tales. Why, He began
All work Himself! He was so full of force
He flung the solar systems on their course
And builded worlds on worlds; and, not content,
He labors still: when mighty suns are spent,
He forges on His white-hot anvil--space--
New stars to tell His glory and His grace.

Who most achieves is most like God, I hold;
The idler is the black sheep in the fold.

Not for the hardened toiler with the hoe
My tears of sorrow and compassion flow.
Though he be dull, unlettered and not fair
To look upon; tho' he is bowed with care,
Yet in his heart if dear love fold its wings,
He stands a monarch over unloved kings.

One sorrow only in God's world has birth--
To live unloving and unloved on earth;
One joy alone makes life a part of heaven--
The joy of happy love, received and given.

Down through the chaos of our human laws
Love shines supreme, the great Eternal Cause.
God loved so much His thoughts burst into flame,
And from that sacred source Creation came.
The heart which feels this holy light within
Finds God and man and beast and bird its kin.
All class distinctions fade and disappear.
Death is new life, and heaven he sees a-near.
Brother is he to "ox" and "seraphim,"
"Slave to the wheel," mayhap, yet kings to him,
And millionaires, seem paupers, if from them
Life has withheld its luminous great gem.
Or if his badge be sceptre, hoe or hod,
That man is king who knows that love is God.

Poems of Power by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Chicago : W. B. Conkey, 1902.

7th ~ Go to the Ella's DivineJournal.com page

Build on resolve, and not upon regret,
The structure of thy future. Do not grope
Among the shadows of old sins, but let
Thine own soul's light shine on the path of hope,
And dissipate the darkness.

RESOLVE

Build on resolve, and not upon regret,
The structure of thy future. Do not grope
Among the shadows of old sins, but let
Thine own soul's light shine on the path of hope
And dissipate the darkness.
Moist no tears
Upon the blotted record of lost years,
But turn the leaf, and smile, oh, smile, to see
The fair white pages that remain for thee.

Prate not of thy repentance. But believe
The spark divine dwells in thee: let it grow.
That which the upreaching spirit can achieve
The grand and all creative forces know;
They will assist and strengthen as the light
Lifts up the acorn to the oak-tree's height.
Thou hast but to resolve, and lo! God's whole
Great universe shall fortify thy soul.

Poetical works of Ella Wheeler Wilcox. by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Edinburgh : W. P. Nimmo, Hay, & Mitchell, 1917.

8th ~ Go to the Ella's DivineJournal.com page

I gave a beggar from my little store
Of well-earned gold. He spent the shining ore
And came again, and yet again, still cold
And hungry, as before.
I gave a thought, and through that thought of mine
He found himself, the man, supreme, divine!
Fed, clothed and crowned with blessings manifold.
And now he begs no more.

TRUE CHARITY

I gave a beggar from my little store
Of well-earned gold. He spent the shining ore
And came again, and yet again, still cold
And hungry, as before.

I gave a thought, and through that thought of mine
He found himself, the man, supreme, divine!
Fed, clothed and crowned with blessings manifold.
And now he begs no more.

Poems of Power by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Chicago : W. B. Conkey, 1902.

9th ~ Go to the Ella's DivineJournal.com page

Rejoice and men will seek you;
Grieve and they turn and go.
They want full measure of all your pleasure,
But they do not need your woe.

SOLITUDE

Laugh, and the world laughs with you;
Weep, and you weep alone,
For sad old earth must borrow its mirth,
But has trouble enough of its own.
Sing, and the hills will answer;
Sigh, it is lost on the air,
The echoes bound to a joyful sound,
But shrink from voicing care.

Rejoice, and men will seek you;
Grieve, and they turn and go.
They want full measure of all your pleasure.
But they do not need your woe.

Be glad, and your friends are many;
Be sad, and you lose them all---
There are none to decline your nectar'd wine,
But alone you must drink life's gall.

Feast, and your halls are crowded;
Fast, and the world goes by.
Succeed and give, and it helps you live,
But no man can help you die.
There is room in the halls of pleasure
For a large and lordly train,
But one by one we must all file on
Through the narrow aisles of pain.

Poetical works of Ella Wheeler Wilcox. by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Edinburgh : W. P. Nimmo, Hay, & Mitchell, 1917

10th ~ 10th ~ Go to the Ella's DivineJournal.com page

If you think peace, hope and happiness, you are
sounding a note of harmony and success.

Morning Influences

at do you think about the very
first thing in the morning?
Your thoughts during the first
half-hour of the morning will
greatly influence the entire day.
You may not realize this, but it is
nevertheless a fact.
If you set out with worry, and depression,
and bitterness of soul toward fate or man, you
are giving the key note to a day of discords and
misfortunes.
If you think peace, hope and happiness, you
are sounding a note of harmony and success.

The result may not be felt at once, but it
will not fail to make itself evident eventually.
Control your morning thoughts. You can do it.
The first moment on waking, no matter what
your mood, say to yourself: "I will get all the
comfort and pleasure possible out of this day,
and I will do something to add to the measure of
the world's happiness or well-being. I will con-
trol myself when tempted to be irritable or un-
happy, I will look for the bright side of every
event."
Once you say these things over to yourself in
a calm, earnest way, you will begin to feel more
cheerful. The worries and troubles of the com-
ing day will seem less colossal.
Then say: "I shall be given help to meet
anything that comes to-day. Everything will be
for the best. I shall succeed in whatever I
undertake. I cannot fail."
Do not let it discourage you if the moment
you leave your room you encounter a trouble or
a disaster. This usually happens. When we
make any boasts, spiritually or physically, we
are put to the test. The occult forces about us
are not unlike human beings. When a school-
boy boasts of his strength, and says he can "lick
any boy in school," he generally gets a chance
to prove it.
When we declare we are brave enough to
overcome any fate, we find our strength put to
the test at once.
But that is all right. Prove your words to
be true. Regard the troubles and cares you en-
counter as the "punching bags" of fate, given
you to develop your spiritual muscle.
Go at them with courage and keep to your
morning resolve.
By and by the troubles will lessen, and you
will find yourself master of Circumstances.

The Heart of the New Thought by Ella Wheeler Wilcox.
Chicago : The Psychic Research Company, c1902.

11th ~ Go to the Ella's DivineJournal.com page

Life is too short for any bitter feeling;
Time is the best avenger if we wait.
The years speed by, and on their wings bear healing.
We have no room for anything like hate.

LIFE IS TOO SHORT

Life is too short for any vain regretting;
Let dead delight bury its dead, I say,
And let us go upon our way forgetting
The joys, and sorrows, of each yesterday.
Between the swift sun's rising and its setting,
We have no time for useless tears or fretting,
Life is too short.

Life is too short for any bitter feeling;
Time is the best avenger if we wait,
The years speed by, and on their wings bear healing,
We have no room for anything like hate.

This solemn truth the low mounds seem revealing
That thick and fast about our feet are stealing,
Life is too short.

Life is too short for aught but high endeavour,---
Too short for spite, but long enough for love.
And love lives on for ever and for ever,
It links the worlds that circle on above;
'Tis God's first law, the universe's lever,
In His vast realm the radiant souls sigh never
"Life is too short."

Poetical works of Ella Wheeler Wilcox. by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Edinburgh : W. P. Nimmo, Hay, & Mitchell, 1917

 

12th ~ Go to the Ella's DivineJournal.com page

 

Your thoughts during the first half hour of the morn-
ing will greatly influence the entire day. You may
not realize this, but it is nevertheless a fact.

Morning Influences

at do you think about the very
first thing in the morning?
Your thoughts during the first
half-hour of the morning will
greatly influence the entire day.
You may not realize this, but it is
nevertheless a fact.

If you set out with worry, and depression,
and bitterness of soul toward fate or man, you
are giving the key note to a day of discords and
misfortunes.
If you think peace, hope and happiness, you
are sounding a note of harmony and success.
The result may not be felt at once, but it
will not fail to make itself evident eventually.
Control your morning thoughts. You can do it.
The first moment on waking, no matter what
your mood, say to yourself: "I will get all the
comfort and pleasure possible out of this day,
and I will do something to add to the measure of
the world's happiness or well-being. I will con-
trol myself when tempted to be irritable or un-
happy, I will look for the bright side of every
event."
Once you say these things over to yourself in
a calm, earnest way, you will begin to feel more
cheerful. The worries and troubles of the com-
ing day will seem less colossal.
Then say: "I shall be given help to meet
anything that comes to-day. Everything will be
for the best. I shall succeed in whatever I
undertake. I cannot fail."
Do not let it discourage you if the moment
you leave your room you encounter a trouble or
a disaster. This usually happens. When we
make any boasts, spiritually or physically, we
are put to the test. The occult forces about us
are not unlike human beings. When a school-
boy boasts of his strength, and says he can "lick
any boy in school," he generally gets a chance
to prove it.
When we declare we are brave enough to
overcome any fate, we find our strength put to
the test at once.
But that is all right. Prove your words to
be true. Regard the troubles and cares you en-
counter as the "punching bags" of fate, given
you to develop your spiritual muscle.
Go at them with courage and keep to your
morning resolve.
By and by the troubles will lessen, and you
will find yourself master of Circumstances.

The Heart of the New Thought by Ella Wheeler Wilcox.
Chicago : The Psychic Research Company, c1902.

13th ~ Go to the Ella's DivineJournal.com page

. . . A thousand unseen hands
Reach down to help you to their peace-crowned
heights,
And all the forces of the firmament
Shall fortify your strength.

Progress

Let there be many windows to your soul,
That all the glory of the universe
May beautify it. Not the narrow pane
Of one poor creed can catch the radiant rays
That shine from countless sources. Tear away
The blinds of superstition; let the light
Pour through fair windows broad as truth itself
And high as God.

Why should the spirit peer
Through some priest-curtained orifice, and grope
Along dim corridors of doubt, when all
The splendor from unfathomed seas of space
Might bathe it with the golden waves of Love?
Sweep up the debris of decaying faiths;
Sweep down the cobwebs of worn-out beliefs,
And throw your soul wide open to the light
Of Reason and of Knowledge. Tune your ear
To all the wordless music of the stars
And to the voice of Nature, and your heart
Shall turn to truth and goodness as the plant
Turns to the sun. A thousand unseen hands
Reach down to help you to their peace-crowned heights,
And all the forces of the firmament
Shall fortify your strength.
Be not afraid
To thrust aside half-truths and grasp the whole.

Poetical works of Ella Wheeler Wilcox. by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Edinburgh : W. P. Nimmo, Hay, & Mitchell, 1917

 

14th ~ Go to the Ella's DivineJournal.com page

 

There is a certain happiness to be found in the most
disagreeable duty when you stop to realize that you
are getting it out of the way.

The Philosophy of Happiness

here are natures born to happiness
just as there are born musicians,
mechanics and mathematicians.
They are usually children who
came into life under right pre-natal
conditions. That is, children con-
ceived and born in love.
The mother who thanks God for the little life
she is about to bring to earth, gives her child a
more blesses endowment than if it were heir to
a kingdom or fortune.
As the majority of people, however, born
under "civilized" conditions, are unwelcome to
their mothers, it is rarely we encounter one who
has a birthright of happiness.
Youth possesses a certain buoyancy and ex-
hileration which passes for happiness, until the
real disposition of the individual asserts itself
with the passing of time.
Good health and strong vitality are great aids
to happiness; yet that they, wealth and honors
added, do not produce that much desired state
of mind we have but to look about us to observe.
One who is not born a musician needs to toil
more assiduously to acquire skill in the art, how-
ever strong his desire or great his taster, than the
natural genius.
So the man not endowed with joyous im-
pulses needs to set himself the task of acquiring
the habit of happiness. I believe it can be done.
To the sad or restless or discontented being I
would say: Begin each morning by resolving to
find something in the day to enjoy. Look in each
experience which comes to you for some grain of
happiness. You will be surprised to find how
much that has seemed hopelessly disagreeable
possesses either an instructive or an amusing
side.
There is a certain happiness to be found in
the most disagreeable duty when you stop to
realize that you are getting it out of the way.

If it is one of those duties which has the un-
comfortable habit of repeating itself continually,
you can at least say you are learning patience
and perseverance, which are two great virtues
and essential to any permanent happiness in life.
Do not anticipate the happiness of to-morrow,
but discover it in to-day. Unless you are in the
profound depths of some great sorrow, you will
find it if you look for it.
Think of yourself each morning as an explorer
in a new realm. I know a man whose time is
gold, and he carefully arranged his plans to take
three hours for a certain pleasure. He lost his
way and missed his pleasure, but was full of exu-
berant delight over his "new experience." "I
missed my whole life." He was a true philos-
opher and optimist and such a man gets the very
kernel out of the nut of life.
I know a woman who had since her birth
every material blessing, health, wealth, position,
travel and a luxurious home. She was forever
complaining of the cares and responsibilities of
the latter. Finally she prevailed upon the family
to rent the home for a series of years and to live
in hotels. Now she goes about posing as a mar-
tyr, " a homeless woman." It is impossible for
such a selfishly perverted nature to know happi-
ness.
A child should be taught from its earliest life
to find entertainment in every kind of condition
or weather. If it hears its elders cursing and
bemoaning a rainy day the child's plastic mind
is quick to receive the impression that a rainy
day is a disaster.
How much better to expatriate in its presence
on the blessing of rain, and to teach it the
enjoyment of all nature's varying moods, which
other young animals feel.
Happiness must come from within in order to
respond to that which comes from without, just
as there must be a musical ear or temperament
to enjoy music.
Cultivate happiness as an art or science.

The Heart of the New Thought by Ella Wheeler Wilcox.
Chicago : The Psychic Research Company, c1902.

15th ~ Go to the Ella's DivineJournal.com page

. . . Be content
The greediest heart can claim but present pleasure.
The future is thy God's. The past is spent;
To-day is thine; clasp close the precious treasure.

GUILO

Yes, yes! I love thee, Guilo; thee alone.
Why dost thou sigh, and wear that face of sorrow?
The sunshine is to-day's, although it shone
On yesterday, and may shine on to-morrow.

I love but thee, my Guilo! be content,
The greediest heart can claim but present pleasure.
The future is thy God's. The past is spent.
To-day is thine; clasp close the precious treasure.

See how I love thee, Guilo! Lips and eyes
Could never under thy fond gaze dissemble.
I could not feign these passion-laden sighs,
Deceiving thee, my pulses would not tremble.

"So I loved Romney." Hush, thou foolish one---
I should forget him wholly, wouldst thou let me;
Or but remember that his day was done
From that most supreme hour when first I met thee.

"And Paul?" Well, what of Paul? Paul had blue eyes,
And Romney grey, and thine are darkly tender!
One finds fresh feelings under change of skies---
A new horizon brings a newer splendour.

As I love thee, I never loved before;
Believe me, Guilo, for I speak most truly.
What though to Romney and to Paul I swore
The selfsame words; my heart now worships newly.

We never feel the same emotion twice:
No two ships ever ploughed the selfsame billow.
The waters change, with every fall and rise;
So, Guilo, go contented to thy pillow.

Poetical works of Ella Wheeler Wilcox. by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Edinburgh : W. P. Nimmo, Hay, & Mitchell, 1917

 

16th ~ Go to the Ella's DivineJournal.com page

 

They said, "You love too largely, and you must
Through wound on wound grow bitter to your kind."
They were false prophets; day by day I find
More cause for love, and less cause for distrust.

MY HERITAGE

I into life so full of love was sent,
That all the shadows which fall on the way
Of every human being, could not stay,
But fled before the light my spirit lent.

I saw the world through gold and crimson dyes:
Men sighed, and said, "Those rosy hues will fade
As you pass on into the glare and shade!"
Still beautiful the way seems to mine eyes.

They said, "You are too jubilant and glad;
The world is full of sorrow and of wrong.
For soon your lips shall breathe forth sighs---not song!"
The day wears on, and yet I am not sad.

They said, "You love too largely, and you must
Through wound on wound, grow bitter to your kind."
They were false prophets; day by day I find
More cause for love, and less cause for distrust.

They said, "Too free you give your soul's rare wine;
The world will quaff, but it will not repay."
Yet into the emptied flagons, day by day,
True hearts pour back a nectar as divine.

Thy heritage! Is it not love's estate?
Look to it, then, and keep its soil well tilled.
I hold that my best wishes are fulfilled
Because I love so much, and cannot hate.

Poetical works of Ella Wheeler Wilcox. by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Edinburgh : W. P. Nimmo, Hay, & Mitchell, 1917

17th ~ Go to the Ella's DivineJournal.com page

. . . We cannot harvest joy
Until we sow the seed, and God alone
Knows when that seed has ripened.

PREPARATION

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,
Or, with the strengthening tonic of the frost,
Prepares for Winter. Should a July noon
Burst suddenly upon a frozen world
Small joy would follow, even tho' that world
Were longing for the Summer. Should the sting
Of sharp December pierce the heart of June,
What death and devastation would ensue!
All things are planned. The most majestic sphere
That whirls through space is governed and controlled
By supreme law, as is the blade of grass
Which through the bursting bosom of the earth
Creeps up to kiss the light. Poor puny man
Alone doth strive and battle with the Force
Which rules all lives and worlds, and he alone
Demands effect before producing cause.
How vain the hope!
We cannot harvest joy
Until we sow the seed, and God alone
Knows when that seed has ripened.
Oft we stand
And watch the ground with anxious brooding eyes
Complaining of the slow unfruitful yield,
Not knowing that the shadow of ourselves
Keeps off the sunlight and delays result.
Sometimes our fierce impatience of desire
Doth like a sultry May force tender shoots
Of half-formed pleasures and unshaped events
To ripen prematurely, and we reap
But disappointment; or we rot the germs
With briny tears ere they have time to grow.
While stars are born and mighty planets die
And hissing comets scorch the brow of space
The Universe keeps its eternal calm.
Through patient preparation, year on year,
The earth endures the travail of the Spring
And Winter's desolation. So our souls
In grand submission to a higher law
Should move serene through all the ills of life,
Believing them masked joys.

Poems of Power by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Chicago : W. B. Conkey, 1902.

 

18th ~ Go to the Ella's DivineJournal.com page

 

You are justified in avoiding the people who send
you from their presence with less hope and force and
strength to cope with life's problems than when you
met them.

RESOLVE

Build on resolve, and not upon regret,
The structure of thy future. Do not grope
Among the shadows of old sins, but let
Thine own soul's light shine on the path of hope
And dissipate the darkness.
Moist no tears
Upon the blotted record of lost years,
But turn the leaf, and smile, oh, smile, to see
The fair white pages that remain for thee.

Prate not of thy repentance. But believe
The spark divine dwells in thee: let it grow.
That which the upreaching spirit can achieve
The grand and all creative forces know;
They will assist and strengthen as the light
Lifts up the acorn to the oak-tree's height.
Thou hast but to resolve, and lo! God's whole
Great universe shall fortify thy soul.

Poetical works of Ella Wheeler Wilcox. by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Edinburgh : W. P. Nimmo, Hay, & Mitchell, 1917

19th ~ Go to the Ella's DivineJournal.com page

Stand firm in the universe. Believe in yourself.
Believe in others. If you make a mistake, consider it
only an incident.

RESOLVE

Build on resolve, and not upon regret,
The structure of thy future. Do not grope
Among the shadows of old sins, but let
Thine own soul's light shine on the path of hope
And dissipate the darkness.
Moist no tears
Upon the blotted record of lost years,
But turn the leaf, and smile, oh, smile, to see
The fair white pages that remain for thee.

Prate not of thy repentance. But believe
The spark divine dwells in thee: let it grow.
That which the upreaching spirit can achieve
The grand and all creative forces know;
They will assist and strengthen as the light
Lifts up the acorn to the oak-tree's height.
Thou hast but to resolve, and lo! God's whole
Great universe shall fortify thy soul.

Poetical works of Ella Wheeler Wilcox. by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Edinburgh : W. P. Nimmo, Hay, & Mitchell, 1917

 

20th ~ Go to the Ella's DivineJournal.com page

 

There is no puny planet, sun or moon,
Or zodiacal sign which can control
The God in us! If we bring that to bear
Upon events, we mold them to our wish.

RESOLVE

Build on resolve, and not upon regret,
The structure of thy future. Do not grope
Among the shadows of old sins, but let
Thine own soul's light shine on the path of hope
And dissipate the darkness.
Moist no tears
Upon the blotted record of lost years,
But turn the leaf, and smile, oh, smile, to see
The fair white pages that remain for thee.

Prate not of thy repentance. But believe
The spark divine dwells in thee: let it grow.
That which the upreaching spirit can achieve
The grand and all creative forces know;
They will assist and strengthen as the light
Lifts up the acorn to the oak-tree's height.
Thou hast but to resolve, and lo! God's whole
Great universe shall fortify thy soul.

Poetical works of Ella Wheeler Wilcox. by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Edinburgh : W. P. Nimmo, Hay, & Mitchell, 1917

21st ~ Go to the Ella's DivineJournal.com page

I cannot make it seem a day to dread
When from this dear earth I shall journey out
To that still dearer country of the dead
And join the lost ones so long dreamed about.

RESOLVE

Build on resolve, and not upon regret,
The structure of thy future. Do not grope
Among the shadows of old sins, but let
Thine own soul's light shine on the path of hope
And dissipate the darkness.
Moist no tears
Upon the blotted record of lost years,
But turn the leaf, and smile, oh, smile, to see
The fair white pages that remain for thee.

Prate not of thy repentance. But believe
The spark divine dwells in thee: let it grow.
That which the upreaching spirit can achieve
The grand and all creative forces know;
They will assist and strengthen as the light
Lifts up the acorn to the oak-tree's height.
Thou hast but to resolve, and lo! God's whole
Great universe shall fortify thy soul.

Poetical works of Ella Wheeler Wilcox. by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Edinburgh : W. P. Nimmo, Hay, & Mitchell, 1917

 

22nd ~ Go to the Ella's DivineJournal.com page

 

Love is the center and circumference;
The cause and aim of all things--'tis the key
To joy and sorrow, and the recompense
For all the ills that have been, or may be.

RESOLVE

Build on resolve, and not upon regret,
The structure of thy future. Do not grope
Among the shadows of old sins, but let
Thine own soul's light shine on the path of hope
And dissipate the darkness.
Moist no tears
Upon the blotted record of lost years,
But turn the leaf, and smile, oh, smile, to see
The fair white pages that remain for thee.

Prate not of thy repentance. But believe
The spark divine dwells in thee: let it grow.
That which the upreaching spirit can achieve
The grand and all creative forces know;
They will assist and strengthen as the light
Lifts up the acorn to the oak-tree's height.
Thou hast but to resolve, and lo! God's whole
Great universe shall fortify thy soul.

Poetical works of Ella Wheeler Wilcox. by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Edinburgh : W. P. Nimmo, Hay, & Mitchell, 1917

23rd ~ Go to the Ella's DivineJournal.com page

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
Who masqueraded in the garb of foes
For many a year, and filled my heart with dread.
Yet fickle joys, like false, pretentious friends,
Have proved less worthy than this trio.

RESOLVE

Build on resolve, and not upon regret,
The structure of thy future. Do not grope
Among the shadows of old sins, but let
Thine own soul's light shine on the path of hope
And dissipate the darkness.
Moist no tears
Upon the blotted record of lost years,
But turn the leaf, and smile, oh, smile, to see
The fair white pages that remain for thee.

Prate not of thy repentance. But believe
The spark divine dwells in thee: let it grow.
That which the upreaching spirit can achieve
The grand and all creative forces know;
They will assist and strengthen as the light
Lifts up the acorn to the oak-tree's height.
Thou hast but to resolve, and lo! God's whole
Great universe shall fortify thy soul.

Poetical works of Ella Wheeler Wilcox. by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Edinburgh : W. P. Nimmo, Hay, & Mitchell, 1917

 

24th ~ Go to the Ella's DivineJournal.com page

 

Give me strong new friends, when the old prove weak
Or fail me in my darkest hour of need;
Why perish with the ship that springs a leak,
Or lean upon a reed?

RESOLVE

Build on resolve, and not upon regret,
The structure of thy future. Do not grope
Among the shadows of old sins, but let
Thine own soul's light shine on the path of hope
And dissipate the darkness.
Moist no tears
Upon the blotted record of lost years,
But turn the leaf, and smile, oh, smile, to see
The fair white pages that remain for thee.

Prate not of thy repentance. But believe
The spark divine dwells in thee: let it grow.
That which the upreaching spirit can achieve
The grand and all creative forces know;
They will assist and strengthen as the light
Lifts up the acorn to the oak-tree's height.
Thou hast but to resolve, and lo! God's whole
Great universe shall fortify thy soul.

Poetical works of Ella Wheeler Wilcox. by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Edinburgh : W. P. Nimmo, Hay, & Mitchell, 1917

25th ~ Go to the Ella's DivineJournal.com page

. . . Who giveth love to all
Pays kindness for unkindness, smiles for frowns,
And lends new courage to each fainting heart,
And strengthens hope and scatters joy abroad.
He too is a Redeemer, Son of God.

RESOLVE

Build on resolve, and not upon regret,
The structure of thy future. Do not grope
Among the shadows of old sins, but let
Thine own soul's light shine on the path of hope
And dissipate the darkness.
Moist no tears
Upon the blotted record of lost years,
But turn the leaf, and smile, oh, smile, to see
The fair white pages that remain for thee.

Prate not of thy repentance. But believe
The spark divine dwells in thee: let it grow.
That which the upreaching spirit can achieve
The grand and all creative forces know;
They will assist and strengthen as the light
Lifts up the acorn to the oak-tree's height.
Thou hast but to resolve, and lo! God's whole
Great universe shall fortify thy soul.

Poetical works of Ella Wheeler Wilcox. by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Edinburgh : W. P. Nimmo, Hay, & Mitchell, 1917

 

26th ~ Go to the Ella's DivineJournal.com page

 

The melody, so full of plaintive chords,
Sobbed into silence--echoing down the strings
Like voice of one who walks from us, and sings.

RESOLVE

Build on resolve, and not upon regret,
The structure of thy future. Do not grope
Among the shadows of old sins, but let
Thine own soul's light shine on the path of hope
And dissipate the darkness.
Moist no tears
Upon the blotted record of lost years,
But turn the leaf, and smile, oh, smile, to see
The fair white pages that remain for thee.

Prate not of thy repentance. But believe
The spark divine dwells in thee: let it grow.
That which the upreaching spirit can achieve
The grand and all creative forces know;
They will assist and strengthen as the light
Lifts up the acorn to the oak-tree's height.
Thou hast but to resolve, and lo! God's whole
Great universe shall fortify thy soul.

Poetical works of Ella Wheeler Wilcox. by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Edinburgh : W. P. Nimmo, Hay, & Mitchell, 1917

27th ~ Go to the Ella's DivineJournal.com page

Think of the value of each day of life, how much it
means and what possibilities of happiness and useful-
ness it contains if well spent.

RESOLVE

Build on resolve, and not upon regret,
The structure of thy future. Do not grope
Among the shadows of old sins, but let
Thine own soul's light shine on the path of hope
And dissipate the darkness.
Moist no tears
Upon the blotted record of lost years,
But turn the leaf, and smile, oh, smile, to see
The fair white pages that remain for thee.

Prate not of thy repentance. But believe
The spark divine dwells in thee: let it grow.
That which the upreaching spirit can achieve
The grand and all creative forces know;
They will assist and strengthen as the light
Lifts up the acorn to the oak-tree's height.
Thou hast but to resolve, and lo! God's whole
Great universe shall fortify thy soul.

Poetical works of Ella Wheeler Wilcox. by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Edinburgh : W. P. Nimmo, Hay, & Mitchell, 1917

 

28th ~ Go to the Ella's DivineJournal.com page

 

Man is what he thinks . Not what he says, reads
or hears. By persistent thinking you can undo any
condition which exists. You can free yourself from
any chains, whether of poverty, sin, ill health or
unhappiness.

RESOLVE

Build on resolve, and not upon regret,
The structure of thy future. Do not grope
Among the shadows of old sins, but let
Thine own soul's light shine on the path of hope
And dissipate the darkness.
Moist no tears
Upon the blotted record of lost years,
But turn the leaf, and smile, oh, smile, to see
The fair white pages that remain for thee.

Prate not of thy repentance. But believe
The spark divine dwells in thee: let it grow.
That which the upreaching spirit can achieve
The grand and all creative forces know;
They will assist and strengthen as the light
Lifts up the acorn to the oak-tree's height.
Thou hast but to resolve, and lo! God's whole
Great universe shall fortify thy soul.

Poetical works of Ella Wheeler Wilcox. by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Edinburgh : W. P. Nimmo, Hay, & Mitchell, 1917

29th ~ Go to the Ella's DivineJournal.com page

This is the unpardonable sin--to talk discouragingly
to human souls hungering for hope .

RESOLVE

Build on resolve, and not upon regret,
The structure of thy future. Do not grope
Among the shadows of old sins, but let
Thine own soul's light shine on the path of hope
And dissipate the darkness.
Moist no tears
Upon the blotted record of lost years,
But turn the leaf, and smile, oh, smile, to see
The fair white pages that remain for thee.

Prate not of thy repentance. But believe
The spark divine dwells in thee: let it grow.
That which the upreaching spirit can achieve
The grand and all creative forces know;
They will assist and strengthen as the light
Lifts up the acorn to the oak-tree's height.
Thou hast but to resolve, and lo! God's whole
Great universe shall fortify thy soul.

Poetical works of Ella Wheeler Wilcox. by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Edinburgh : W. P. Nimmo, Hay, & Mitchell, 1917

 

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