Skip to content
1850–1919

WILL

Ella Wheeler Wilcox

You will be what you will to be; Let failure find its false content In that poor word “environment,” But spirit scorns it, and is free.

It masters time, it conquers space, It cowes that boastful trickster Chance, And bids the tyrant Circumstance Uncrown and fill a servant's place.

The human Will, that force unseen, The offspring of a deathless Soul, Can hew the way to any goal, Though walls of granite intervene.

Be not impatient in delay, But wait as one who understands; When spirit rises and commands, The gods are ready to obey.

Cookies on Poetry Cove

We use cookies to remember your language preference and — only with your consent — to learn how Poetry Cove is used. You can change your mind any time.
WILL · Ella Wheeler Wilcox · Poetry Cove