Early 20th Century

Biography

Shaw gra­du­at­ed from Wi­no­na State Uni­ver­si­ty, Min­ne­so­ta, in 1883.

At one time, she home­stead­ed alone near Bill­ings, Mon­ta­na.

A writ­er, suf­fra­gist, and tem­per­ance ad­vo­cate, she ed­it­ed and fre­quent­ly con­trib­ut­ed to The Far­mer’s Wife, a ma­ga­zine po­pu­lar in the 1930s.

Poem

Inertia

I saw a Star the other day;
It shone down on me from the sky;
I heard it say:

“This way lies light; come out! come up!
There’s room to spare where planets wheel
And place to sup.

“Stay not below like weighted clod;
Spread the strong wings of lifting thought
And reach for God.

“He’s here! Doubt not, O loitering one!
You’ve only need to hear, to will—
The flight’s begun.

He is the start and He the goal
And He the Path that lies between:
He is he whole!

So said a Star the other day,
Shining upon me from the sky,
Yet—here I stay.

Ada Melville Shaw
The Forum, March 1920

Lyrics

  1. All the Day

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