Contrasts

I see the tall church steeples -
    They reach so far, so far;
But the eyes of my heart see the world's great mart
Where the starving people are.

    I hear the church bells ringing
    Their chimes on the morning air;
But my soul's sad ear is hurt to hear
    The poor man's cry of despair.

Thicker and thicker the churches,
    Nearer and nearer the sky -
But alack for their creeds while the poor man's needs
    Grow deeper as years roll by!

Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Ella Wheeler Wilcox was an American author and poet, born on November 5, 1850, and died on October 30, 1919. She was known for her works expressing optimistic views and moral lessons. Her most famous book was 'Poems of Passion'. Her poem 'Solitude' contains the famous lines, 'Laugh, and the world laughs with you; weep, and you weep alone'. Over her career, Wilcox became popularly known as a 'people's poet'.

Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Always At Sea

Ella Wheeler Wilcox, Simple Poetry

The Past.

Ella Wheeler Wilcox, Simple Poetry

Foes.

Ella Wheeler Wilcox, Simple Poetry

Time's Hymn Of Hate

Ella Wheeler Wilcox, Simple Poetry

English

Suggested Poems

Explore a curated selection of verses that share themes, styles, and emotional resonance with the poem you've just read.

Contrasts

I see the tall church steeples,
    They reach so far, so far,
But the eyes of my heart see the world's great mart,
    Where the starving people are.

I hear the church bells ringing
    Their chimes on the morning air;
But my soul's sad ear is hurt to hear
    The poor man's cry of despair.

Thicker and thicker the churches,
    Nearer and nearer the sky
But alack for their creeds while the poor man's needs
    Grow deeper as years roll by.

Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Nothing But Stones.

I think I never passed so sad an hour,
    Dear friend, as that one at the church to-night.
The edifice from basement to the tower
    Was one resplendent blaze of colored light.
Up through broad aisles the stylish crowd was thronging,
    Each richly robed like some king's bidden guest.
"Here will I bring my sorrow and my longing,"
    I said, "and here find rest."

I heard the heavenly organ's voice of thunder,
    It seemed to give me infinite relief.
I wept. Strange eyes looked on in well-bred wonder.
    I dried my tears: their gaze profaned my grief.
Wrapt in the costly furs, and silks and laces
    Beat alien hearts, that had no part with me.
I could not read, in all those proud cold faces,
    One thought of sympathy.

I watched them bowing a...

Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Nothing But Stones

I think I never passed so sad an hour,
    Dear friend, as that one at the church to-night.
The edifice from basement to the tower
    Was one resplendent blaze of coloured light.
Up through broad aisles the stylish crowd was thronging,
    Each richly robed like some king's bidden guest.
"Here will I bring my sorrow and my longing,"
    I said, "and here find rest."

I heard the heavenly organ's voice of thunder,
    It seemed to give me infinite relief.
I wept.    Strange eyes looked on in well-bred wonder.
    I dried my tears:    their gaze profaned my grief.
Wrapt in the costly furs, and silks, and laces,
    Beat alien hearts, that had no part with me.
I could not read, in all those proud cold faces,
    One thought of sympathy.

I watched them...

Ella Wheeler Wilcox

A Picture.

        I strolled last eve across the lonely down;
    One solitary picture struck my eye:
    A distant ploughboy stood against the sky -
        How far he seemed above the noisy town!

        Upon the bosom of a cloud the sod
    Laid its bruised cheek as he moved slowly by,
    And, watching him, I asked myself if I
        In very truth stood half as near to God.

Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Through Dim Eyes

Is it the world, or my eyes, that are sadder?
I see not the grace that I used to see
In the meadow-brook whose song was so glad, or
In the boughs of the willow tree.
The brook runs slower - its song seems lower
And not the song that it sang of old;
And the tree I admired looks weary and tired
Of the changeless story of heat and cold.

When the sun goes up, and the stars go under,
In that supreme hour of the breaking day,
Is it my eyes, or the dawn, I wonder,
That finds less of the gold, and more of the gray
I see not the splendour, the tints so tender,
The rose-hued glory I used to see;
And I often borrow a vague half-sorrow
That another morning has dawned for me.

When the royal smile of that welcome comer
Beams on the meadow and burns in the s...

Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Deceitful Calm

The winds are still; the sea lies all untroubled
    Beneath a cloudless sky; the morn is bright,
Yet, Lord, I feel my need of Thee is doubled;
    Come nearer to me in this blaze of light;
The night must fall, -the storm will burst at length.
    Oh! give me strength.

So well, so well, I know the treacherous seeming
    Of days like this; they are too heavenly fair.
Those waves that laugh like happy children dreaming,
    Are mighty forces brewing some despair
For thoughtless hearts, and ere the hour of need,
    Let mine take heed.

Joy cannot last; it must give place to sorrow
    As certainly as solar systems roll.
I would not wait till that time comes to borrow
    The strength prayer offers to a suffering soul.
Here in the sunlight -yet undimm...

Ella Wheeler Wilcox