Here’s a great poem you’ve probably heard before; it’s called “It Shows in Your Face” and the author is Lottie Pratt Brown.
You don’t have to tell how you live each day;
You don’t have to say if you work or you play;
A tried, true barometer serves in the place–
However you live, it will show in your face.
The false, the deceit that you bear in your heart,
Will not stay inside where it first got a start;
For sinew and blood are a thin veil of lace–
What you wear in your heart, you wear in your face.
If your life is selfless, if for others you live,
For not what you get, but how much you can give;
If you live close to God in his infinite grace–
You don’t have to tell it, it shows in your face.
-Lottie Pratt Brown
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It Shows in Your Face. I’ll be reading faces now!
I think is is a wonderful poem, you can look at a person and see their aura, feel the spirit within.
Oh my gosh! I was just telling my son this very thing last night! He’s 15 and I was telling him that I realized that I need to start allowing him to make some of his own choices in life. I asked him if he’d ever met someone he instinctively didn’t like or didn’t trust. I told him that they had made poor choices that showed in their faces. The freedom of choice is a beautiful thing with awsome responsibilities. It determines who you are and how well you do in life. Thank you for adding validity to my teaching through the words of someone who isn’t his mom!
You’re welcome, Sandy.
Glad I could help out. 🙂
Shawn
Wow! very nice
Thank you so much for the words of this poem. I had it on my kitchen note board back in the 60’s and lost it through a couple of career moves. It is so true and did not remember that the author was unknown.
Beautiful and so true. It is said the eyes are the window to your soul.
The poem “It Shows In Your Face” was written by my great aunt Lottie Pratt Brown.
Thank You
Pat Pratt Bickley
Thanks Pat! Can you tell me/us some more about her and her life? I found some info online just now; are there any links you can share? Did she have a book and if so, is there a website you can point reader to?
Yes, she worked at Neiman Marcus in Dallas. They published a book of her poems. There was a really great story she told me of how it was published. Her name at the time of her death was Lottie Pratt Richards. She is buried in Corsicana, TX. I have a copy of her book. This poem, somehow, was published in many papers as Author Unknown! Her story is fascinating! I’ll be glad to tell you her story. Thanks, Pat Pratt Bickley.
Thanks Pat! I updated the author’s name to reflect your aunt’s. I just feel bad that I didn’t do it years ago. Hopefully we can get the history books (the internet) changed to give her credit in more places. I removed your phone number from your comment so that you don’t start getting sp*m phone calls from bots. But please feel free to tell us more of Lottie’s story here. I’d love to hear some more.
i dont know if anybody will see this, but an interesting fact stand true regardless. i do not intend to call Pat Pratt a liar, but in a video documentery of the late great Johnny Cash’s home life an interview with his mother took place, in which she recited this very poem and claimes to have written it. furthermor, she claimed that it was published in a local paper under her name, and if i am not mistaken she was rewarded somehow for having written it.i thought it was very interesting to see someone else take credit for it. again i have no reason to believe one over the other. i just thought it was strange, and i would like to do some more reserch on the subject. by the way Johnny Cashs mother’ name was Carrie Cloveree Rivers Cash. it also could have been Maybelle carter, the mother of the late June Carter Cash, but i am pretty confident that it was the former.
Once again, this poem was written by my great aunt Lottie Pratt Brown. I have the book in which it was published by Neiman Marcus. The story is amazing. I would love to relate it to you & dispell any doubt you have about Johnny Cash’s mother. Perhaps it was a favorite of hers. Pat Pratt Bickley
I am the unknown author. I wrote this when I was 16 or 17 years old. I still have the original typed poem, there are some differences but when I found it here I was quite surprised.
What?? Really?? That’s amazing! Can you tell me more? I copied down this poem about 25 years ago from a book I read.
Yes it shows mainly in the eyes. But,always on the face. Be careful whst you seek. It could be harmful to your emotional health.
But he is there to already protect you.guide you. Show you the way. Have faith.
Well my name is Carrie and it really does not matter who wrote the poem,it is true.You can tell a whole lot about a person by the look on there face,and the eyes are the window to the soul.And i believe that the greatest gift that God gave us was the right to choose!!! So we should choose to live our lives for the Lord.And treat people like you want to be treated,with respect, and kindness.Today is the day the Lord has made be happy and joyful in it.AMEN!!!!! And do not forget to stop and smell the roses,and smile.Sometimes that all it takes is a smile to make someones day a little better.And to any one
who reads this i hope you have a Blessed day!!!!!
This poem was written by my great aunt Lottie Pratt Brown. There are some who have tried to claim it as their own, but I have the book in which it was published! Perhaps a legal visit will help them to remember that they did not write this poem. Thanks, Pat Pratt Bickley
It’s interesting that this poem was printed with the author listed as above. I am looking at a page from a book printed in England with the same poem and the name Helen Bartlett Hamilton is attributed as the author. Printed in 2003 by Noble House in London.
So who actually wrote it? what is the date this version was printed?
A few words are different but most of the text is the same.
7sawdust, please check out all the previous comments above. There’s lots of discussion about the true author. But one thing is for sure, it was written many decades ago, not in 2003.
Pat, if you’re still reading these comments, can you tell us the name of your aunt’s book? I’d like to check on Amazon for a copy.
In the 1960’s I was reading this to my siblings from a book my mom got in Chicago. It was published by the Don McNeill Breakfast Club which was a radio show there. Some of the other poems on your site I believe were also in it.
Thanks, Mary. From all the previous comments about where the poem first showed up, and who wrote it, it’s been a pretty interested read. I’m sure that in the 1960s this poem likely showed up in several books. People seemed to like poems a few decades ago, a lot more than they do now. 🙂