Social Commentaries
Little Cell
From In This Our World (1893; 5th ed. 1914)
Little Cell! Little Cell! with a heart as big as heaven,
Remember that you are but a part!
This great longing in your soul
Is the longing of the whole,
And your work is not done with your heart!
Don’t imagine, Little Cell,
That the work you do so well
Is the only work the world needs to do!
You are wanted in your place
For the growing of the race,
But the growing does not all depend on you!
Little Cell! Little Cell! with a race’s whole ambition,
Remember there are others growing, too!
You’ve been noble, you’ve been strong;
Rest a while and come along;
Let the world take a turn and carry you!
Cite this poem
MLA
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. “Little Cell.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/gilman/19/.
Chicago
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. “Little Cell.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/gilman/19/.
Read this poem with the Codex →