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“A copy of each verse I retain in my own handwriting, after this, they are copied in a book by my husband. I beg your kind consideration of the plain, simple verses herein: I do not seek Wealth, Fame or Place, ‘among the great ones of my race.’ ” Myra Viola Wilds in her Preface to Thoughts in Idle Hours, 1915
What kind of thoughts now, do you carry
In your travels day by day
Are they bright and lofty visions,
Or neglected, gone astray?
Matters not how great in fancy,
Or what deeds of skill you’ve wrought;
Man, though high may be his station,
Is no better than his thoughts.
Catch your thoughts and hold them tightly,
Let each one an honor be;
Purge them, scourge them, burnish brightly,
Then in love set each one free.
– Myra Viola Wilds
Poem-a-Day (Academy of American Poets) published this poem, which is in the public domain. I’d never heard of the poet so I went on a hunt. She’s a folksy poet and there’s nothing significant to be found online. Her book is not included in the Gutenberg Project, but it is included HERE in the Internet Archive. If you haven’t explored this wonderful site, you must.
Good resource for poets, writers, researchers.
The Internet Archive “is building a digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. Like a paper library, we provide free access to researchers, historians, scholars, the print disabled, and the general public. Our mission is to provide Universal Access to All Knowledge.
“We began in 1996 by archiving the Internet itself, a medium that was just beginning to grow in use. Like newspapers, the content published on the web was ephemeral – but unlike newspapers, no one was saving it. Today we have 20+ years of web history accessible through the Wayback Machine and we work with 625+ library and other partners through our Archive-It program to identify important web pages.” MORE
RELATED:
- The Internet Archive Is Making Wikipedia More Reliable, Klint Finley, Wired Magazine
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