Sapphires

Lost rays of light that wandered off alone
    And down through space were hurled
From that great sapphire sun beyond our own
    Pale, puny little world.

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

Answered.

Ella Wheeler Wilcox, Simple Poetry

Certitude

Ella Wheeler Wilcox, Simple Poetry

Unsatisfied

Ella Wheeler Wilcox, Simple Poetry

Change.

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.

Into Space

If the sad old world should jump a cog
    Sometime, in its dizzy spinning,
And go off the track with a sudden jog,
    What an end would come to the sinning,
What a rest from strife and the burdens of life
    For the millions of people in it,
What a way out of care, and worry and wear,
    All in a beautiful minute.

As 'round the sun with a curving sweep
    It hurries and runs and races,
Should it lose its balance, and go with a leap
    Into the vast sea-spaces,
What a blest relief it would bring to the grief,
    And the trouble and toil about us,
To be suddenly hurled from the solar world
    And let it go on without us.

With not a sigh or a sad good-bye
    For loved ones left behind us,
We would go with a lunge and a mighty plunge...

Ella Wheeler Wilcox

A Dream.

That was a curious dream; I thought the three
    Great planets that are drawing near the sun
    With such unerring certainty, begun
To talk together in a mighty glee.
They spoke of vast convulsions which would be
    Throughout the solar system - the rare fun
    Of watching haughty stars drop, one by one,
And vanish in a seething vapor sea.

I thought I heard them comment on the earth -
    That small dark object - doomed beyond a doubt.
    They wondered if live creatures moved about
Its tiny surface, deeming it of worth.
    And then they laughed - 'twas such a ringing shout
That I awoke and joined too in their mirth.

Ella Wheeler Wilcox

A Dream

That was a curious dream; I thought the three
    Great planets that are drawing near the sun
    With such unerring certainty begun
To talk together in a mighty glee.
They spoke of vast convulsions which would be
    Throughout the solar system - the rare fun
    Of watching haughty stars drop, one by one,
And vanish in a seething vapour sea.

I thought I heard them comment on the earth -
    That small dark object - doomed beyond a doubt.
    They wondered if live creatures moved about
Its tiny surface, deeming it of worth.
    And then they laughed - 'twas such a singing shout
That I awoke and joined too in their mirth.

Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Hidden Gems

We know not what lies in us, till we seek;
    Men dive for pearls - they are not found on shore,
The hillsides most unpromising and bleak
    Do sometimes hide the ore.

Go, dive in the vast ocean of thy mind,
    O man! far down below the noisy waves,
Down in the depths and silence thou mayst find
    Rare pearls and coral caves.

Sink thou a shaft into the mine of thought;
    Be patient, like the seekers after gold;
Under the rocks and rubbish lieth what
    May bring thee wealth untold.

Reflected from the vastly Infinite,
    However dulled by earth, each human mind
Holds somewhere gems of beauty and of light
    Which, seeking, thou shalt find.

Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Hidden Gems.

We know not what lies in us, till we seek;
    Men dive for pearls - they are not found on shore,
The hillsides most unpromising and bleak
    Do sometimes hide the ore.

Go, dive in the vast ocean of thy mind,
    O man! far down below the noisy waves,
Down in the depths and silence thou mayst find
    Rare pearls and coral caves.

Sink thou a shaft into the mine of thought;
    Be patient, like the seekers after gold;
Under the rocks and rubbish lieth what
    May bring thee wealth untold.

Reflected from the vasty Infinite,
    However dulled by earth, each human mind
Holds somewhere gems of beauty and of light
    Which, seeking, thou shalt find.

Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Compensations

I

Blind

When first the shadows fell, like prison bars,
And darkness spread before me, like a pall,
I cried out for the sun, the earth, the stars,
And beat the air, as madmen beat a wall,
Till, impotent, and broken with despair,
I turned my vision inward.    Lo, a spark -
A light - a torch; and all my world grew bright;
For God's dear eyes were shining through the dark.
Then, bringing to me gifts of recompense,
Came keener hearing, finer taste, and touch;
And that oft unappreciated sense,
Which finds sweet odours, and proclaims them such;
And not until my mortal eyes were blind
Did I perceive how kind the world, how kind.

II

Deaf

I can recall a time, when on mine ears
There fell chaotic sounds of earthly life,
S...

Ella Wheeler Wilcox