I Am

Ella Wheeler Wilcox 1855 (Janesville) – 1919



Am
I know not whence I came,
 I know not whither I go;
But the fact stands clear that I am here
In this world of pleasure and woe.
And out of the mist and the murk
 Another truth shines plain
It is my power each day and hour
 To add to its joy or its pain.

I know that the earth exists,
 It is none of my business why;
I cannot find out what it’s all about,
 I would but waste time to try.
My life is a brief, brief thing,
 I am here for a little space,
And while I stay I would like, if I may,
 To brighten and better the place.

The trouble, I think, with us all
 Is the lack of a high conceit.
If each man thought he was sent to this spot
 To make it a bit more sweet,
How soon we could gladden the world,
 How easily right all wrong,
If nobody shirked, and each one worked
 To help his fellows along!

Cease wondering why you came –
 Stop looking for faults and flaws;
Rise up to-day in your pride and say,
 ‘I am part of the First Great Cause!
However full the world,
 There is room for an earnest man.
It had need of me, or I would not be –
 I am here to strengthen the plan.’

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 24, 2023

1:09 min read
373

Quick analysis:

Scheme XABXBXCXC XDXDXEFE XGXGHIXI AXFXHJXJ
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,086
Words 231
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 9, 8, 8, 8

Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Ella Wheeler Wilcox was an American author and poet. more…

All Ella Wheeler Wilcox poems | Ella Wheeler Wilcox Books

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