Show Me the Way
Show me the way that leads to the true life.I do not care what tempests may assail me,I shall be given courage for the strife;I know my strength will not desert or fail me;I know that I shall conquer in the fray:Show me the way.
Show me the way up to a higher plane,Where body shall be servant to the soul.I do not care what tides of woe or painAcross my life their angry waves may roll,If I but reach the end I seek, some day:Show me the way.
Show me the way, and let me bravely climbAbove vain grievings for unworthy treasures;Above all sorrow that finds balm in time;Above small triumphs or belittling pleasures;Up to those heights where these things seem child's-play:Show me the way.
Show me the way to that calm, perfect peaceWhich springs from an inward consciousness of right;To where all conflicts with the flesh shall cease,And self shall radiate with the spirit's light.Though hard the journey and the strife, I pray,Show me the way.
Words in this poem
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
- angry a.
- Troublesome; vexatious; rigorous. [See Anger.]
- bravely adv.
- In a brave manner; courageously; gallantly; valiantly; splendidly; nobly.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Show Me the Way is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems of Passion, Project Gutenberg ebook #16776; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Ella Wheeler Wilcox, Show Me the Way, in Poems of Passion (1883), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16776, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/wilcox-passion/show-me-the-way.html, id L22199.
Form and metre
Show Me the Way is 24 lines in 4 stanzas of 6 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABABCC. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 83%).
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 ABABCC lifeA · meB · strifeA · meB · frayC · wayC
- 2 ABABCC planeA · soulB · painA · rollB · dayC · wayC
- 3 ABABCC climbA · treasuresB · timeA · pleasuresB · playC · wayC
- 4 ABABCC peaceA · rightB · ceaseA · lightB · prayC · wayC
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Show me the way that leads to the true life. | 10 | ·········· |
| I do not care what tempests may assail me, | 11 | ·····/˘·˘/· |
| I shall be given courage for the strife; | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| I know my strength will not desert or fail me; | 11 | ······/˘··· |
| I know that I shall conquer in the fray: | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Show me the way. | 4 | ···· |
| Show me the way up to a higher plane, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Where body shall be servant to the soul. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| I do not care what tides of woe or pain | 10 | ·········· |
| Across my life their angry waves may roll, | 10 | ˘/···/˘··· |
| If I but reach the end I seek, some day: | 10 | ·········· |
| Show me the way. | 4 | ···· |
| Show me the way, and let me bravely climb | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Above vain grievings for unworthy treasures; | 11 | ···/˘·˘/˘/˘ |
| Above all sorrow that finds balm in time; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Above small triumphs or belittling pleasures; | 11 | ···/˘·˘/˘/˘ |
| Up to those heights where these things seem child's-play: | 10 | ·········· |
| Show me the way. | 4 | ···· |
| Show me the way to that calm, perfect peace | 10 | ·······˘/· |
| Which springs from an inward consciousness of right; | 10 | ····/˘/˘·· |
| To where all conflicts with the flesh shall cease, | 10 | ···˘/····· |
| And self shall radiate with the spirit's light. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Though hard the journey and the strife, I pray, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Show me the way. | 4 | ···· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.