Poems of Cheer

From Wikisource

Jump to: navigation, search
Poems of Cheer
by Ella Wheeler Wilcox


Information about this edition

Contents

[edit] Preface

This Volume contains the poems published under the title "Poems of Life," with the exception of about half a dozen, which appear in my other volumes. I have also added a few new verses.
ELLA WHEELER WILCOX.
April 12th, 1910.


I step across the mystic border-land,
And look upon the wonder-world of Art.
How beautiful, how beautiful its hills!
And all its valleys, how surpassing fair!


The winding paths that lead up to the heights
Are polished by the footsteps of the great.
The mountain-peaks stand very near to God:
The chosen few whose feet have trod thereon
Have talked with Him, and with the angels walked.


Here are no sounds of discord--no profane
Or senseless gossip of unworthy things -
Only the songs of chisels and of pens,
Of busy brushes, and ecstatic strains
Of souls surcharged with music most divine.
Here is no idle sorrow, no poor grief
For any day or object left behind -
For time is counted precious, and herein
Is such complete abandonment of Self
That tears turn into rainbows, and enhance
The beauty of the land where all is fair.
Awed and afraid, I cross the border-land.
Oh, who am I, that I dare enter here
Where the great artists of the world have trod -
The genius-crowned aristocrats of Earth?
Only the singer of a little song;
Yet loving Art with such a mighty love
I hold it greater to have won a place
Just on the fair land's edge, to make my grave,
Than in the outer world of greed and gain
To sit upon a royal throne and reign.


I to have a very small book by "''Ella Wheeler Wilcox" There is no date of printing, just that it was published by Siegle Hill & Co. 2 Langham Place London West.

It seem that Langham Booklets were published around the time of the first world war,

I have no exact date except that this one was owned by May G. Owen in June 1915. The book itself is 6cm x 10cm, bound it soft brown leather. all the edges are gilt, including the bottom. there is only 132 pages and 50 of her Poems of Cheer. But it doesn't end there for many years ago, (I was born in 1944) my Grandma gave me a little book, brown leather cover. inside the cover , both back and front a picture of a steam ship? set in a William Morris rectangle frame of green, the picture still has amazing colour. This one is 13cm x 9cm, has61 pages and 11 Poems of Pleasure, 11 Poems of Life and just 3 Poems of Love. the last of these being, "A Baby in the House" which is beautiful. Her name of E Wheeler Wilcox is signed in gold lettering in a lovely shield of gold. The book was published by The Domes of Silence, Ltd., Hopetoun House, 5 Lloyd's Avenue, London. It is one of "The Poets Series" which include Tennyson, Browning, Omar, D.G. Rossetti, A.A. Procter and E. Wheeler Wilcox. Yet another oddity is where it was sold. "Boots Limited," Publishers and Booksellers, London, Nottingham, Brighton, Sheffield, &c., which all had large Boots Establishments in the early 1900's. There is no date, and my Gran did not "deface books Dorothy" so no inscription I'm afraid. Can anyone help here?? I wonder! Maybe I have put to much down, but I love books and have bookcases everywhere, :) For those who haven't heard of "BOOTS" it has large reputation in apothecary in the UK.

[edit] Poems of Cheer

  1. Worth while
  2. The House of Life
  3. A Song of Life
  4. Prayer
  5. In the Long Run
  6. As you go through Life
  7. Two Sunsets
  8. Unrest
  9. Artist's life
  10. Nothing But Stones
  11. Inevitable
  12. The Ocean of Song
  13. It might have been
  14. Momus, God of Laughter
  15. I Dream
  16. The Sonnet
  17. The Past
  18. A Dream
  19. Uselessness
  20. Will
  21. Winter Rain
  22. Life
  23. Burdened
  24. Let them go
  25. Five Kisses
  26. Retrospection
  27. Helena
  28. Nothing Remains
  29. Comrades
  30. What Gain?
  31. To the West
  32. The Land of Content
  33. Warning
  34. After the Battles are over
  35. And they are dumb
  36. Night
  37. All for me
  38. Into Space
  39. Through Dim Eyes
  40. The Punished
  41. Half Fledged
  42. The Year
  43. The Unattained
  44. In the crowd
  45. Life and I
  46. Guerdon
  47. Snowed Under
  48. Leudemanns-on-the-river
  49. Little Blue Hood
  50. No Spring
  51. Midsummer
  52. A Reminiscence
  53. A Girl's Faith
  54. Two
  55. Slipping Away
  56. Is it done?
  57. A Leaf
  58. Aesthetic
  59. Poems of the Week
  60. Ghosts
  61. Fleeing away
  62. All mad
  63. Hidden Gems
  64. By-and-bye
  65. Over the May Hill
  66. Foes
  67. Friendship
  68. Two sat down
  69. Bound and free
  70. Aquileia
  71. Wishes for a little girl
  72. Romney
  73. My Home
  74. To marry or not to marry?
  75. An Afternoon
  76. River and Sea
  77. What happens?
  78. Possession


PD-icon.svg This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1923.

The author died in 1919, so this work is also in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 80 years or less. This work may also be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Poems_of_Cheer"