"Life" by Emma Lowrey Williams

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend Support Poem-a-Day November 16, 2019   Life   Emma Lowrey Williams

We can not tell what happiness  We might on earth possess  If in singleness of heart  We would strive to act a proper part.  'Tis true we see the effects of sin All without and all within.  We long may live a life in vain,  Much good possess, but still complain.  We may appear to other eyes,  To be extremely rich and wise;  But if our hearts are not right,  Life will not be beautiful and bright.  Oh! may our life, day by day,  In love and duty pass away;  And at last when our bodies die,  We may live in that world above the sky;  Where free from sin, death and pain,  The good will meet and love again.             This poem is in the public domain. Published in Poem-a-Day on November 16, 2019, by the Academy of American Poets. About this Poem   "Life" was originally published in History of the Cherokee Indians and Their Legends and Folk Lore (Warden, 1921).   Emma Lowrey Williams was born around 1834. She graduated from the Cherokee Female Seminary in 1856 and taught at Green Leaf School, a Cherokee Public School. "What the Water Knows" by Sam Hamill "For Calling the Spirit Back from Wandering the Earth in Its Human Feet" by Joy Harjo "Eve Remembering" by Toni Morrison November Guest Editor: Sherwin Bitsui   Thanks to Sherwin Bitsui, author of Dissolve (Copper Canyon Press, 2018), who curated Poem-a-Day for this month's weekdays. Read a Q&A with Bitsui about his curatorial approach this month and find out more about our guest editors for the year. A culture break, a source of daily renewal...   If reading Poem-a-Day has become a meaningful part of your day, please consider supporting this free series with a donation. Your gift makes publishing Poem-a-Day possible. Thanks for being a part of the Academy of American Poets community. To learn about other programs, including National Poetry Month, Poem in Your Pocket Day, the annual Poets Forum, and more, visit poets.org   Unsubscribe here.   © Academy of American Poets 75 Maiden Lane, Suite 901, New York, NY 10038

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