Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Every line we carry

Each one links to its source, what it means, and the shirt in any of our looks.

1. Laugh, and the world laughs with you. Weep, and you weep alone.

   Wilcox is not cynical, just honest about crowds: people gather around good cheer and drift from gloom. Grief often has to be carried by yourself. Bring your laughter out into the world, and keep a few friends who will stay for the tears.

   "Solitude" (Poems of Passion, 1883), Original English (Poems of Passion, 1883)

2. Never sin by silence when you should defend.

   Wilcox's morning prayer asks for the courage not to stand by quietly. Staying out of it is sometimes the wrong done. When someone needs a voice, use yours.

   "Morning Prayer" (Poems of Power, 1903), Original English (Poems of Power, 1903)

3. Let me today take a little sadness from the world's vast store.

   The prayer does not ask to fix the world, only to lighten it a little today. That is a goal anyone can meet before dinner. Make one person's day easier.

   "Morning Prayer" (Poems of Power, 1903), Original English (Poems of Power, 1903)

4. You will be what you will to be.

   Wilcox scorns 'environment' as an excuse and puts the human will in charge. Circumstances are real, but they are not the last word. Decide what you mean to become and keep willing it.

   "Will" (Poems of Power, 1903), Original English (Poems of Power, 1903)

5. The will can hew the way to any goal, though walls of granite intervene.

   Like a river cutting through rock, a steady will carves its own way. Walls slow you down; they do not decide your course. Keep cutting.

   "Will" (Poems of Power, 1903), Original English (Poems of Power, 1903)

6. The man worth while is the one who will smile when everything goes dead wrong.

   Being pleasant when life flows like a song costs nothing. Wilcox says the test is the bad day. Smile when it all goes wrong, and you have shown what you are made of.

   "Worth While" (Poems of Cheer), Original English (Poems of Cheer, Gay and Hancock edition, 1914)

7. The test of the heart is trouble.

   Easy times prove nothing about a person. Trouble shows what is really there. When it comes, treat it as the exam you have been studying for.

   "Worth While" (Poems of Cheer), Original English (Poems of Cheer, Gay and Hancock edition, 1914)

8. No chance, no destiny, no fate can stop the firm resolve of a determined soul.

   This is Wilcox's second poem called 'Will', a sonnet. Luck and fate get blamed for a lot, but a settled decision outlasts them. Make the resolve firm, then let nothing argue you out of it.

   "Will" (Poems of Cheer), Original English (Poems of Cheer, Gay and Hancock edition, 1914)

9. Gifts count for nothing. Will alone is great.

   Talent is a head start, not a finish. Wilcox says what carries you is will. Plenty of gifted people quit; be the one who does not.

   "Will" (Poems of Cheer), Original English (Poems of Cheer, Gay and Hancock edition, 1914)

10. Let the fool prate of luck.

    Wilcox has no patience for people who explain every success away as luck. The fortunate one, she says, is the person whose purpose never swerves. Talk less about luck and work more on purpose.

    "Will" (Poems of Cheer), Original English (Poems of Cheer, Gay and Hancock edition, 1914)

11. Each well-born soul must win what it deserves.

    Wilcox believed effort and desert eventually meet. The task is to become someone who deserves the thing, not to want it harder. Deserve first; the winning follows.

    "Will" (Poems of Cheer), Original English (Poems of Cheer, Gay and Hancock edition, 1914)

12. One ship drives east and another drives west with the self-same winds.

    Two boats in the same wind can end up on opposite shores. The wind is not the difference; the sailor is. Two people can face the same hard year and come out in different places.

    "The Winds of Fate" (Poems of Optimism), Original English (Poems of Optimism, Gay and Hancock edition, 1919)

13. It's the set of the sails, not the gales, that tells the way to go.

    Every sailor knows you cannot choose the wind, only how you trim to it. Wilcox makes that a rule for life. Stop blaming the weather and adjust your sails.

    "The Winds of Fate" (Poems of Optimism), Original English (Poems of Optimism, Gay and Hancock edition, 1919)

14. The set of the soul decides its goal.

    Calm seasons and stormy ones come to everyone. Where you end up depends on how your inner sails are set. Fix your direction, and both calm and storm can carry you.

    "The Winds of Fate" (Poems of Optimism), Original English (Poems of Optimism, Gay and Hancock edition, 1919)