Measurement
Ella Hines Stratton
Embedded Files
Background
Background
This poet cannot be found on the internet. This poem was found on discoverpoetry.com
Poem and Annotations
Poem and Annotations
Great tasks are but seldom given out,Great deeds are but for the few,Yet the little acts, not talked about,May need a faith as true.
Some things are better for being small,For a breath who wants a cyclone?And the flower which would die in a water-fallGrows bright with a drop alone.
The small is not always a little thing—The stroke of a pen may moveA crown from off the brow of a king,A government from its groove.
At times our measurement cannot be right,For, when tried by the Master's test,So little a gift as a widow's miteOut-balances all the rest.
And whether a thing be great or smallAs none of us may plan,It is safe to do, what we do at all,The very best that we can.
Some things are better for being small,For a breath who wants a cyclone?And the flower which would die in a water-fallGrows bright with a drop alone.
The small is not always a little thing—The stroke of a pen may moveA crown from off the brow of a king,A government from its groove.
At times our measurement cannot be right,For, when tried by the Master's test,So little a gift as a widow's miteOut-balances all the rest.
And whether a thing be great or smallAs none of us may plan,It is safe to do, what we do at all,The very best that we can.
Analysis
Analysis
"Measurement" is a poem about not judging everything at face value. In this poem, Stratton shows that many people disregard the smaller things in life and try to solve every problem with a large solution. A flower does not need a waterfall's worth of water, but only a drop. Vice versa, instead of giant armies, a mere pen and paper can bring down empires and kingdoms in an instant. There is no rhyme or reason to the level of influence that things in life have, but one can always be ready for it by simply doing the best they can with what they have been given. Perspective changes everything, and if people can listen to the perspective of smaller things as well as great things, they will be more well-rounded as an individual. The tone of this poem is genuine and wise.
Page updated
Report abuse