You Never Can Tell

Ella Wheeler Wilcox 1855 (Janesville) – 1919



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.

Font size:
Collection  PDF     
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 20, 2023

54 sec read
118

Quick analysis:

Scheme XXABXCXC XDXDXEBE XXXXXAXA
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 913
Words 180
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 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

2 fans

Discuss the poem You Never Can Tell with the community...

0 Comments

    Translation

    Find a translation for this poem in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "You Never Can Tell" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/11020/you-never-can-tell>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    March 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    3
    days
    16
    hours
    37
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    By which poet was "The Raven" written?
    A Elizabeth Barrett Browning
    B Edgar Allan Poe
    C William Shakespeare
    D Thomas Hardy