History & Politics

A Book for the King

by Ella Wheeler Wilcox 1850–1919

From Poems of Optimism (1913)

History & Politics

A book has been made for the King,
A book of beauty and art;
To the good king's eyes
A smile shall rise
Hiding the ache in his heart—
Hiding the hurt and the grief
As he turns it, leaf by leaf.

A book has been made for the King,
A book of blood and of blight;
To the Great King's eyes
A look shall rise
That will blast and wither and smite—
Yes, smite with a just God's rage,
As He turns it, page by page.

MLA

Wilcox, Ella Wheeler. “A Book for the King.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/wilcox/570/.

Chicago

Wilcox, Ella Wheeler. “A Book for the King.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/wilcox/570/.

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