Section: «Poems»

Verse (ancient Greek ὁ στίχος — row, structure), a term in versification used in several meanings: artistic speech organized by division into rhythmically commensurate segments; poetry in the narrow sense; in particular, it implies the properties of versification of a particular tradition ("antique verse", "Akhmatova's verse", etc.); a line of poetic text organized according to a certain rhythmic pattern ("My uncle of the most honest rules").

Poverty And Wealth

The stork flew over a town one day,And back of each wing an infant lay;One to a rich man’s home he brought,And one he left at a labourer’s cot.The..

© Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Possession

That which we had we still possess,Though leaves may drop and stars may fall;No circumstance can make it lessOr take it from us, all in all.That..

© Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Platonic

I knew it the first of the summer,I knew it the same at the end,That you and your love were plighted,But couldn’t you be my friend?Couldn’t we sit in..

© Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Philosophy

At morn the wise man walked abroad,Proud with the learning of great fools.He laughed and said, ‘There is no God –‘Tis force creates, ‘tis reason..

© Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Ph. Best & Co.'s Lager-Beer

In every part of the thrifty town,Whether my course be up or down,In lane, and alley, and avenue,Painted in yellow, and red, and blue,This side and..

© Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Perished

I called to the summer sun,“Come over the hills to-day!Unlock the rivers, and tell them to run,And kiss the snow-drifts and melt them away.”And the..

© Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Perfectness

All perfect things are saddening in effect.The autumn wood robed in its scarlet clothes,The matchless tinting on the royal roseWhose velvet leaf by..

© Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Penalty

Because of the fullness of what I had,All that I have seems poor and vain.If I had not been happy, I were not sad--Tho' my salt is savorless, why..

© Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Peek-A-Boo

The cunningest thing that a baby can doIs the very first time it plays peek-a-boo;When it hides its pink little face in its hands,And crows, and..

© Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Passing The Buck

Whatever the task that comes your way,Just take it as part of your luck.Look it right square in the eyes, and say,'This ismytask, I'll do it..

© Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Pardoned Out

I’m pardoned out. Again the starsShine on me with their myriad eyes.So long I’ve peered ‘twixt iron bars,I’m awed by this expanse of skies.The world..

© Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Pain's Proof

I think men's great capacity for painProves his immortal birthright. I am sureNo merely human mind could bear the strainOf some tremendous sorrows we..

© Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Over The Water

Think of it, think of it over the waterThousands of men to-day march on to death,Think how the sun shines on fields red with slaughterHow the air..

© Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Over The May Hill

All through the night time, and all through the day time,Dreading the morning and dreading the night,Nearer and nearer we drift to the May timeSeason..

© Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Over The Banisters

Over the banisters bends a face,Daringly sweet and beguiling.Somebody stands in careless grace,And watches the picture, smiling.The light burns dim..

© Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Over The Alley

Here in my office I sit and writeHour on hour, and day on day,With no one to speak to from morn till night,Though I have a neighbour just over the..

© Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Out Of The Depths: Written After The Reformation Of A Brilliant And Talented Man

Out of the midnight, rayless and cheerless,Into the morning's golden light;Out of the clutches of wrong and ruin,Into the arms of truth and right;Out..

© Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Our Lives

Our lives are songs. God writes the words,And we set them to music at pleasure;And the song grows glad, or sweet, or sad,As we choose to fashion the..

© Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Our Blessings

Sitting to-day in the sunshine,That touched me with fingers of love,I thought of the manifold blessingsGod scatters on earth, from above;And they..

© Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Our Atlas

Not Atlas, with his shoulders bent beneath the weighty world,Bore such a burden as this man, on whom the Gods have hurledThe evils of old festering..

© Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Origin Of The Liquor Dealer

The devil in hell gave a festival,And he called his imps from their wineCalled them up from the ruddy cup,And marshalled them into line.And each to..

© Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Optimism

Talk happiness. The world is sad enoughWithout your woes. No path is wholly rough;Look for the places that are smooth and clear,And speak of those..

© Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Only Dreams

A maiden sat in teh sunset glowOf the shadowy, beautiful Long Ago,That we see through a mist of tears.She sat and dreamed, with lips apart,With..

© Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Only A Slight Flirtation

‘Twas just a slight flirtation,And where’s the harm, I pray,In that amusing pastimeSo much in vogue to-day?Her hand was plighted elsewhereTo one she..

© Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Only A Simple Rhyme

Only a simple rhyme of love and sorrow,Where 'blisses' rhymed with 'kisses,' 'heart,' with 'dart:'Yet, reading it, new strength I seemed to borrow,To..

© Ella Wheeler Wilcox