Time Enough

Ella Wheeler Wilcox 1855 (Janesville) – 1919



I know it is early morning,
 And hope is calling aloud,
And your heart is afire with Youth’s desire
 To hurry along with the crowd.
But linger a bit by the roadside,
 And lend a hand by the way,
‘Tis a curious fact that a generous act
 Brings leisure and luck to a day.

I know it is only the noontime
 There is chance enough to be kind;
But the hours run fast when the noon has passed,
 And the shadows are close behind.
So think while the light is shining,
 And act ere the set of the sun,
For the sorriest woe that a soul can know
 Is to think what it might have done.

I know it is almost evening,
 But the twilight hour is long.
If you listen and heed each cry of need
 You can right full many a wrong.
For when we have finished the journey
 We will all look back and say:
‘On life’s long mile there was nothing worth while
 But the good we did by the way.’

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

53 sec read
36

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABXBXCXC XDXDAEXE AFXFXCXC
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 869
Words 179
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

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