"Thoughts " by Myra Viola Wilds

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend Support Poem-a-Day January 18, 2020   Thoughts   Myra Viola Wilds

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.            This poem is in the public domain. Published in Poem-a-Day on January 18, 2020, by the Academy of American Poets. About this Poem   "Thoughts" was originally published in Thoughts of Idle Hours (National Baptist Publishing Board, 1915).   Myra Viola Wilds was born in Kentucky. She is the author of Thoughts of Idle Hours (National Baptist Publishing Board, 1915). Poetry by Wilds   Thoughts of Idle Hours (National Baptist Publishing Board, 1915) "Know how to forget" by Sharon Dolin "[Sometimes I don't know if I'm having a feeling]" by Matthew Siegel "Toomer" by Elizabeth Alexander January Guest Editor: Meg Day   Thanks to Meg Day, author of Last Psalm at Sea Level (Barrow Street, 2014), who curated Poem-a-Day for this month's weekdays. Read a Q&A about Day's curatorial approach 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