Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story. 

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. 

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism. 

Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass. 

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself. 

You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. 

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. 

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy. 

Max Ehrmann (26 September 1872 - 9 September 1945)
© Copyright Max Ehrmann 1927
© Copyright renewed Bertha K. Ehrmann 1954
Copyright assigned 1971 © Robert L Bell

There is much confusion surrounding the popularity of this work and also its origin. In 1977 Barbara J. Katz, a reporter for the Washington Post, published a story concerning the myth that it had been written in 1692.

Her research revealed that Rev. Frederick Ward Kates, rector of Old St. Paul's Church in Baltimore in the late 1950s, mimeographed an unsigned copy of Desiderata and numerous other inspirational poems to distribute to worshippers. The copies were printed on the church's letterhead, which read "Old Saint Paul's Church, Baltimore, A.D. 1692," the year the church was founded.

 It is presumed that some of the copies were carried from the church and eventually became widely circulated, with the significance of the original letterhead details becoming obscured and lost.

In the 1960s, America's "flower children" popularized the poem they thought was a centuries-old message of peace and love.