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“Progress” by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
“Progress” by Ella Wheeler Wilcox

“Progress” by Ella Wheeler Wilcox

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.

Poem available on Americanpoems.com. HT: Elizabeth M

One comment

  1. Anonymous

    “You Never Can Tell”
    by Ella Wheeler Wilcox 

     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,
    Just where it may chance to go!
    It may pierce the breast of your dearest friend,
    Tipped with its poison or balm;
    To a stranger’s heart in life’s great mart,
    It may carry its pain or its calm.

    You never can tell when you do an act
    Just what the result will be;
    But with every deed you are sowing a seed,
    Though the harvest you may not see.
    Each kindly act is an acorn dropped
    In God’s productive soil.
    You may not know, but the tree shall grow,
    With shelter for those who toil.

    You never can tell what your thoughts will do,
    In bringing you hate or love;
    For thoughts are things, and their airy wings
    Are swifter than carrier doves.
    They follow the law of the universe –
    Each thing must create its kind;
    And they speed o’er the track to bring you back
    WHATEVER WENT OUT FROM YOUR MIND.

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