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American Literature – Children Books – American Poetry – Paul Laurence Dunbar – Poems by Paul Laurence Dunbar
In English
A – B – C – D – E – F – G – H – I – J – K – L – M – N – O – P – Q – R – S – T – U – V – W – X – Y – Z
A
A Back-Log Song
De axes has been ringin’ in de woods de blessid day,
An’ de chips has been a-fallin’ fa’ an’ thick;
Dey has cut de bigges’ hick’ry dat de mules kin tote away, … Continue Reading …
A Banjo Song
Oh, dere ‘s lots o’ keer an’ trouble
In dis world to swaller down;
An’ ol’ Sorrer ‘s purty lively … Continue Reading …
A Border Ballad
Oh, I have n’t got long to live, for we all
Die soon, e’en those who live longest;
And the poorest and weakest are taking their chance … Continue Reading …
A Boy’s Summer Song
‘Tis fine to play
In the fragrant hay,
And romp on the golden load; … Continue Reading …
A Bridal Measure
Come, essay a sprightly measure,
Tuned to some light song of pleasure.
Maidens, let your brows be crowned … Continue Reading …
A Cabin Tale – The Young Master Asks For A Story
Whut you say, dah? huh, uh! chile,
You ‘s enough to dribe me wile.
Want a sto’y; jes’ hyeah dat! … Continue Reading …
A Career
“Break me my bounds, and let me fly
To regions vast of boundless sky;
Nor I, like piteous Daphne, be … Continue Reading …
A Choice
They please me not—these solemn songs
That hint of sermons covered up.
‘Tis true the world should heed its wrongs, … Continue Reading …
A Christmas Folksong
De win’ is blowin’ wahmah,
An hit’s blowin’ f’om de bay;
Dey’s a so’t o’ mist a-risin’ … Continue Reading …
A Confidence
Uncle John, he makes me tired;
Thinks ‘at he’s jest so all-fired
Smart, ‘at he kin pick up, so, … Continue Reading …
A Coquette Conquered
Yes, my ha’t ‘s ez ha’d ez stone—
Go ‘way, Sam, an’ lemme ‘lone.
No; I ain’t gwine change my min’— … Continue Reading …
A Corn-song
On the wide veranda white,
In the purple failing light,
Sits the master while the sun is lowly burning; … Continue Reading …
A Death Song
Lay me down beneaf de willers in de grass,
Whah de branch ‘ll go a-singin’ as it pass.
An’ w’en I ‘s a-layin’ low, … Continue Reading …
A Drowsy Day
The air is dark, the sky is gray,
The misty shadows come and go,
And here within my dusky room … Continue Reading …
A Florida Night
Win’ a-blowin’ gentle so de san’ lay low,
San’ a little heavy f’om de rain,
All de pa’ms a-wavin’ an’ a-weavin’ slow, … Continue Reading …
A Frolic
Swing yo’ lady roun’ an’ roun’,
Do de bes’ you know;
Mek yo’ bow an’ p’omenade … Continue Reading …
A Golden Day
I found you and I lost you,
All on a gleaming day.
The day was rilled with sunshine, … Continue Reading …
A Grievance
Wen de snow ‘s a-fallin’
An’ de win’ is col’.
Mammy ‘mence a-callin’, … Continue Reading …
A Hymn
Lead gently, Lord, and slow,
For oh, my steps are weak,
And ever as I go, … Continue Reading …
A Lazy Day
The trees bend down along the stream,
Where anchored swings my tiny boat.
The day is one to drowse and dream … Continue Reading …
A Letter
Dear Miss Lucy: I been t’inkin’ dat I ‘d write you long fo’ dis,
But dis writin’ ‘s mighty tejous, an’ you know jes’ how it is.
But I ‘s got a little lesure, so I teks my pen in han’ … Continue Reading …
A Little Christmas Basket
De win’ is hollahin’ “Daih you” to de shuttahs an’ de fiah,
De snow’s a-sayin’ “Got you” to de groun’,
Fu’ de wintah weathah ‘s come widout a-askin’ ouah desiah, … Continue Reading …
A Lost Dream
Ah, I have changed, I do not know
Why lonely hours affect me so.
In days of yore, this were not wont, … Continue Reading …
A Love Letter
Oh, I des received a letter f’om de sweetest little gal;
Oh, my; oh, my.
She’s my lovely little sweetheart an’ her name is Sal: … Continue Reading …
A Love Song
Ah, love, my love is like a cry in the night,
A long, loud cry to the empty sky,
The cry of a man alone in the desert, … Continue Reading …
A Lyric
My lady love lives far away,
And oh my heart is sad by day,
And ah my tears fall fast by night, … Continue Reading …
A Madrigal
Dream days of fond delight and hour
As rosy-hued as dawn, are mine.
Love’s drowsy wine, … Continue Reading …
A Misty Day
Heart of my heart, the day is chill,
The mist hangs low o’er the wooded hill,
The soft white mist and the heavy cloud … Continue Reading …
A Musical
Outside the rain upon the street,
The sky all grim of hue,
Inside, the music-painful sweet, … Continue Reading …
A Negro Love Song
Seen my lady home las’ night,
Jump back, honey, jump back.
Hel’ huh han’ an’ sque’z it tight, … Continue Reading …
A Plantation Portrait
Hain’t you see my Mandy Lou,
Is it true?
Whaih you been f’om day to day, … Continue Reading …
A Plantation Melody
De trees is bendin’ in de sto’m,
De rain done hid de mountain’s fo’m,
I ‘s ‘lone an’ in distress. … Continue Reading …
A Plea
Treat me nice, Miss Mandy Jane,
Treat me nice.
Dough my love has tu’ned my brain, … Continue Reading …
A Prayer
O Lord, the hard-won miles
Have worn my stumbling feet:
Oh, soothe me with thy smiles, … Continue Reading …
A Preference
Mastah drink his ol’ Made’a,
Missy drink huh sherry wine,
Ovahseah lak his whiskey, … Continue Reading …
A Roadway
Let those who will stride on their barren roads
And prick themselves to haste with self-made goads,
Unheeding, as they struggle day by day, … Continue Reading …
A Sailor’s Song
Oh for the breath of the briny deep,
And the tug of the bellying sail,
With the sea-gull’s cry across the sky … Continue Reading …
A Song
On a summer’s day as I sat by a stream,
A dainty maid came by,
And she blessed my sight like a rosy dream, … Continue Reading …
A Song
Thou art the soul of a summer’s day,
Thou art the breath of the rose.
But the summer is fled … Continue Reading …
A Spiritual
De ‘cession’s stahted on de gospel way,
De Capting is a-drawin’ nigh:
Bettah stop a-foolin’ an’ a-try to pray; … Continue Reading …
A Spring Wooing
Come on walkin’ wid me, Lucy; ‘t ain’t no time to mope erroun’
Wen de sunshine ‘s shoutin’ glory in de sky,
An’ de little Johnny-Jump-Ups ‘s jes’ a-springin’ f’om de groun’, … Continue Reading …
A Starry Night
A cloud fell down from the heavens,
And broke on the mountain’s brow;
It scattered the dusky fragments … Continue Reading …
A Summer Night
Summah is de lovin’ time—
Do’ keer what you say.
Night is allus peart an’ prime, … Continue Reading …
A Summer Pastoral
It’s hot to-day. The bees is buzzin’
Kinder don’t-keer-like aroun’
An’ fur off the warm air dances … Continue Reading …
A Summer’s Night
The night is dewy as a maiden’s mouth,
The skies are bright as are a maiden’s eyes,
Soft as a maiden’s breath the wind that flies … Continue Reading …
A Thanksgiving Poem
The sun hath shed its kindly light,
Our harvesting is gladly o’er
Our fields have felt no killing blight, … Continue Reading …
A Warm Day In Winter
“Sunshine on de medders,
Greenness on de way;
Dat ‘s de blessed reason … Continue Reading …
A Winter’s Day
Across the hills and down the narrow ways,
And up the valley where the free winds sweep,
The earth is folded in an ermined sleep … Continue Reading …
Absence
Good-night, my love, for I have dreamed of thee
In waking dreams, until my soul is lost—
Is lost in passion’s wide and shoreless sea, … Continue Reading …
Accountability
Folks ain’t got no right to censuah othah folks about dey habits;
Him dat giv’ de squir’ls de bushtails made de bobtails fu’ de rabbits.
Him dat built de gread big mountains hollered out de little valleys, … Continue Reading …
Advice
W’en you full o’ worry
‘Bout yo’ wo’k an’ sich,
W’en you kind o’ bothered … Continue Reading …
After a Visit
I be’n down in ole Kentucky
Fur a week er two, an’ say,
‘T wuz ez hard ez breakin’ oxen … Continue Reading …
After Many Days
I’ve always been a faithful man
An’ tried to live for duty,
But the stringent mode of life … Continue Reading …
After the Quarrel
So we, who ‘ve supped the self-same cup,
To-night must lay our friendship by;
Your wrath has burned your judgment up, … Continue Reading …
After While
I think that though the clouds be dark,
That though the waves dash o’er the bark,
Yet after while the light will come, … Continue Reading …
Alexander Crummell—Dead
Back to the breast of thy mother,
Child of the earth!
E’en her caress can not smother … Continue Reading …
Alice
Know you, winds that blow your course
Down the verdant valleys,
That somewhere you must, perforce, … Continue Reading …
An Ante-Bellum Sermon
We is gathahed hyeah, my brothahs,
In dis howlin’ wildaness,
Fu’ to speak some words of comfo’t … Continue Reading …
An Easy-Goin’ Feller
Ther’ ain’t no use in all this strife,
An’ hurryin’, pell-mell, right thro’ life.
I don’t believe in goin’ too fast … Continue Reading …
An Old Memory
How sweet the music sounded
That summer long ago,
When you were by my side, love, … Continue Reading …
Anchored
If thro’ the sea of night which here surrounds me,
I could swim out beyond the farthest star,
Break every barrier of circumstance that bounds me, … Continue Reading …
Angelina
When de fiddle gits to singin’ out a ol’ Vahginny reel,
An’ you ‘mence to feel a ticklin’ in yo’ toe an’ in yo’ heel;
Ef you t’ink you got ‘uligion an’ you wants to keep it, too, … Continue Reading …
Appreciation
My muvver’s ist the nicest one
‘At ever lived wiz folks;
She lets you have ze mostes’ fun, … Continue Reading …
At Candle-Lightin’ Time
When I come in f’om de co’n-fiel’ aftah wo’kin’ ha’d all day,
It ‘s amazin’ nice to fin’ my suppah all erpon de way;
An’ it ‘s nice to smell de coffee bubblin’ ovah in de pot, … Continue Reading …
At Cheshire Cheese
When first of wise old Johnson taught,
My youthful mind its homage brought,
And made the pond’rous crusty sage … Continue Reading …
At Loafing-Holt
Since I left the city’s heat
For this sylvan, cool retreat,
High upon the hill-side here … Continue Reading …
At Night
Whut time ‘d dat clock strike?
Nine? No—eight;
I didn’t think hit was so late. … Continue Reading …
At Sunset Time
Adown the west a golden glow
Sinks burning in the sea,
And all the dreams of long ago … Continue Reading …
At The Tavern
A lilt and a swing,
And a ditty to sing,
Or ever the night grow old; … Continue Reading …
A – B – C – D – E – F – G – H – I – J – K – L – M – N – O – P – Q – R – S – T – U – V – W – X – Y – Z
B
Ballad
I know my love is true,
And oh the day is fair.
The sky is clear and blue, … Continue Reading …
Ballade
By Mystic’s banks I held my dream.
(I held my fishing rod as well,)
The vision was of dace and bream, … Continue Reading …
Behind The Arras
As in some dim baronial hall restrained,
A prisoner sits, engirt by secret doors
And waving tapestries that argue forth … Continue Reading …
Bein’ Back Home
Home agin, an’ home to stay—
Yes, it’s nice to be away.
Plenty things to do an’ see, … Continue Reading …
Beyond the Years
Beyond the years the answer lies,
Beyond where brood the grieving skies
And Night drops tears. … Continue Reading …
Black Samson Of Brandywine
Gray are the pages of record,
Dim are the volumes of eld;
Else had old Delaware told us … Continue Reading …
Blue
Standin’ at de winder,
Feelin’ kind o’ glum,
Listenin’ to de raindrops … Continue Reading …
Booker T. Washington
The word is writ that he who runs may read.
What is the passing breath of earthly fame?
But to snatch glory from the hands of blame— … Continue Reading …
Breaking The Charm
Caught Susanner whistlin’; well,
It’s most nigh too good to tell.
‘Twould ‘a’ b’en too good to see … Continue Reading …
By Rugged Ways
By rugged ways and thro’ the night
We struggle blindly toward the light;
And groping, stumbling, ever pray … Continue Reading …
By the Stream
By the stream I dream in calm delight, and watch as in a glass,
How the clouds like crowds of snowy-hued and white-robed maidens pass,
And the water into ripples breaks and sparkles as it spreads, … Continue Reading …
A – B – C – D – E – F – G – H – I – J – K – L – M – N – O – P – Q – R – S – T – U – V – W – X – Y – Z
C
Changing Time
The cloud looked in at the window,
And said to the day, “Be dark!”
And the roguish rain tapped hard on the pane, … Continue Reading …
Chrismus Is A-Comin’
Bones a-gittin’ achy,
Back a-feelin’ col’,
Han’s a-growin’ shaky, … Continue Reading …
Chrismus On The Plantation
It was Chrismus Eve, I mind hit fu’ a mighty gloomy day—
Bofe de weathah an’ de people—not a one of us was gay;
Cose you ‘ll t’ink dat ‘s mighty funny ‘twell I try to mek hit cleah, … Continue Reading …
Christmas
Step wid de banjo an’ glide wid de fiddle,
Dis ain’ no time fu’ to pottah an’ piddle:
Fu’ Christmas is comin’, it’s right on de way, … Continue Reading …
Christmas Carol
Ring out, ye bells!
All Nature swells
With gladness at the wondrous story,— … Continue Reading …
Christmas In The Heart
The snow lies deep upon the ground,
And winter’s brightness all around
Decks bravely out the forest sere, … Continue Reading …
Circumstances Alter Cases
Tim Murphy’s gon’ walkin’ wid Maggie O’Neill,
O chone!
If I was her muther, I’d frown on sich foolin’, … Continue Reading …
Columbian Ode
Four hundred years ago a tangled waste
Lay sleeping on the west Atlantic’s side;
Their devious ways the Old World’s millions traced … Continue Reading …
Communion
In the silence of my heart,
I will spend an hour with thee,
When my love shall rend apart … Continue Reading …
Comparison
The sky of brightest gray seems dark
To one whose sky was ever white.
To one who never knew a spark, … Continue Reading …
Compensation
Because I had loved so deeply,
Because I had loved so long,
God in His great compassion … Continue Reading …
Confessional
Search thou my heart;
If there be guile,
It shall depart … Continue Reading …
Conscience and Remorse
“Good-bye,” I said to my conscience—
“Good-bye for aye and aye,”
And I put her hands off harshly, … Continue Reading …
Curiosity
Mammy’s in de kitchen, an’ de do’ is shet;
All de pickaninnies climb an’ tug an’ sweat,
Gittin’ to de winder, stickin’ dah lak flies, … Continue Reading …
Curtain
Villain shows his indiscretion,
Villain’s partner makes confession.
Juvenile, with golden tresses, … Continue Reading …
A – B – C – D – E – F – G – H – I – J – K – L – M – N – O – P – Q – R – S – T – U – V – W – X – Y – Z
D
Dat Ol’ Mare O’ Mine
Want to trade me, do you, mistah? Oh, well, now, I reckon not,
W’y you could n’t buy my Sukey fu’ a thousan’ on de spot.
Dat ol’ mare o’ mine? … Continue Reading …
Dawn
An angel, robed in spotless white,
Bent down and kissed the sleeping Night. … Continue Reading …
Day
The gray dawn on the mountain top
Is slow to pass away.
Still lays him by in sluggish dreams, … Continue Reading …
Deacon Jones’ Grievance
I ‘ve been watchin’ of ’em, parson,
An’ I ‘m sorry fur to say
‘At my mind is not contented … Continue Reading …
Dead
A knock is at her door, but she is weak;
Strange dews have washed the paint streaks from her cheek;
She does not rise, but, ah, this friend is known, … Continue Reading …
Death
Storm and strife and stress,
Lost in a wilderness,
Groping to find a way, … Continue Reading …
De Critters’ Dance
Ain’t nobody nevah tol’ you not a wo’d a-tall,
‘Bout de time dat all de critters gin dey fancy ball?
Some folks tell it in a sto’y, some folks sing de rhyme, … Continue Reading …
Dely
Jes’ lak toddy wahms you thoo’
Sets yo’ haid a reelin’,
Meks you ovah good and new, … Continue Reading …
Despair
Let me close the eyes of my soul
That I may not see
What stands between thee and me. … Continue Reading …
De Way T’ings Come
De way t’ings come, hit seems to me,
Is des’ one monst’ous mystery;
De way hit seem to strike a man, … Continue Reading …
Differences
My neighbor lives on the hill,
And I in the valley dwell,
My neighbor must look down on me, … Continue Reading …
Dinah Kneading Dough
I have seen full many a sight
Born of day or drawn by night:
Sunlight on a silver stream, … Continue Reading …
Diplomacy
Tell your love where the roses blow,
And the hearts of the lilies quiver,
Not in the city’s gleam and glow, … Continue Reading …
Dirge
Place this bunch of mignonette
In her cold, dead hand;
When the golden sun is set, … Continue Reading …
Dirge For A Soldier
In the east the morning comes,
Hear the rollin’ of the drums
On the hill. … Continue Reading …
Disappointed
An old man planted and dug and tended,
Toiling in joy from dew to dew;
The sun was kind, and the rain befriended; … Continue Reading …
Discovered
Seen you down at chu’ch las’ night,
Nevah min’, Miss Lucy.
What I mean? oh, dat ‘s all right, … Continue Reading …
Distinction
“I am but clay,” the sinner plead,
Who fed each vain desire. … Continue Reading …
Douglass
Ah, Douglass, we have fall’n on evil days,
Such days as thou, not even thou didst know,
When thee, the eyes of that harsh long ago … Continue Reading …
Dream Song I
Long years ago, within a distant clime,
Ere Love had touched me with his wand sublime,
I dreamed of one to make my life’s calm May … Continue Reading …
Dream Song II
Pray, what can dreams avail
To make love or to mar?
The child within the cradle rail … Continue Reading …
Dreamin’ Town
Come away to dreamin’ town,
Mandy Lou, Mandy Lou,
Whaih de skies don’ nevah frown, … Continue Reading …
Dreams
Dream on, for dreams are sweet:
Do not awaken!
Dream on, and at thy feet … Continue Reading …
Dreams
What dreams we have and how they fly
Like rosy clouds across the sky;
Of wealth, of fame, of sure success, … Continue Reading …
Drizzle
Hit ‘s been drizzlin’ an’ been sprinklin’,
Kin’ o’ techy all day long.
I ain’t wet enough fu’ toddy, … Continue Reading …
A – B – C – D – E – F – G – H – I – J – K – L – M – N – O – P – Q – R – S – T – U – V – W – X – Y – Z
E
Encouraged
Because you love me I have much achieved,
Had you despised me then I must have failed, … Continue Reading …
Encouragement
Who dat knockin’ at de do’?
Why, Ike Johnson,—yes, fu’ sho!
Come in, Ike. I ‘s mighty glad … Continue Reading …
Equipment
With what thou gavest me, O Master,
I have wrought.
Such chances, such abilities, … Continue Reading …
Ere Sleep Comes Down to Soothe the Weary Eyes
Ere sleep comes down to soothe the weary eyes,
Which all the day with ceaseless care have sought
The magic gold which from the seeker flies; … Continue Reading …
Evening
The moon begins her stately ride
Across the summer sky;
The happy wavelets lash the shore,— … Continue Reading …
Expectation
You ‘ll be wonderin’ whut ‘s de reason
I ‘s a grinnin’ all de time,
An’ I guess you t’ink my sperits … Continue Reading …
A – B – C – D – E – F – G – H – I – J – K – L – M – N – O – P – Q – R – S – T – U – V – W – X – Y – Z
F
Faith
I’s a-gittin’ weary of de way dat people do,
De folks dat’s got dey ‘ligion in dey fiah-place an’ flue;
Dey’s allus somep’n comin’ so de spit’ll have to turn, … Continue Reading …
Farewell To Arcady
With sombre mien, the Evening gray
Comes nagging at the heels of Day,
And driven faster and still faster … Continue Reading …
Fishing
Wen I git up in de mo’nin’ an’ de clouds is big an’ black,
Dey’s a kin’ o’ wa’nin’ shivah goes a-scootin’ down my back;
Den I says to my ol’ ooman ez I watches down de lane, … Continue Reading …
Foolin’ Wid De Seasons
Seems lak folks is mighty curus
In de way dey t’inks an’ ac’s.
Dey jes’ spen’s dey days a-mixin’ … Continue Reading …
For The Man Who Fails
The world is a snob, and the man who wins
Is the chap for its money’s worth:
And the lust for success causes half of the sins … Continue Reading …
Forever
I had not known before
Forever was so long a word.
The slow stroke of the clock of time … Continue Reading …
Frederick Douglass
A hush is over all the teeming lists,
And there is pause, a breath-space in the strife;
A spirit brave has passed beyond the mists … Continue Reading …
From The Porch At Runnymede
I stand above the city’s rush and din,
And gaze far down with calm and undimmed eyes,
To where the misty smoke wreath grey and dim … Continue Reading …
Fulfilment
I grew a rose once more to please mine eyes.
All things to aid it—dew, sun, wind, fair skies—
Were kindly; and to shield it from despoil, … Continue Reading …
A – B – C – D – E – F – G – H – I – J – K – L – M – N – O – P – Q – R – S – T – U – V – W – X – Y – Z
G
Good-Night
The lark is silent in his nest,
The breeze is sighing in its flight,
Sleep, Love, and peaceful be thy rest. … Continue Reading …
Growin’ Gray
Hello, ole man, you ‘re a-gittin’ gray,
An’ it beats ole Ned to see the way
‘At the crow’s feet’s a-getherin’ aroun’ yore eyes; … Continue Reading …
A – B – C – D – E – F – G – H – I – J – K – L – M – N – O – P – Q – R – S – T – U – V – W – X – Y – Z
H
Harriet Beecher Stowe
She told the story, and the whole world wept
At wrongs and cruelties it had not known
But for this fearless woman’s voice alone. … Continue Reading …
He Had His Dream
He had his dream, and all through life,
Worked up to it through toil and strife.
Afloat fore’er before his eyes, … Continue Reading …
Her Thought And His
The gray of the sea, and the gray of the sky,
A glimpse of the moon like a half-closed eye.
The gleam on the waves and the light on the land, … Continue Reading …
Hope
De dog go howlin’ ‘long de road,
De night come shiverin’ down;
My back is tiahed of its load, … Continue Reading …
How Lucy Backslid
De times is mighty stirrin’ ‘mong de people up ouah way,
Dey ‘sputin’ an’ dey argyin’ an’ fussin’ night an’ day;
An’ all dis monst’ous trouble dat hit meks me tiahed to tell … Continue Reading …
How Shall I Woo Thee
How shall I woo thee to win thee, mine own?
Say in what tongue shall I tell of my love.
I who was fearless so timid have grown, … Continue Reading …
Howdy, Honey, Howdy!
Do’ a-stan’in’ on a jar, fiah a-shinin’ thoo,
Ol’ folks drowsin’ ‘roun’ de place, wide awake is Lou,
W’en I tap, she answeh, an’ I see huh ‘mence to grin, … Continue Reading …
Hunting Song
Tek a cool night, good an’ cleah,
Skiff o’ snow upon de groun’;
Jes’ ’bout fall-time o’ de yeah … Continue Reading …
Hymn
When storms arise
And dark’ning skies
About me threat’ning lower, … Continue Reading …
Hymn
O li’l’ lamb out in de col’,
De Mastah call you to de fol’,
O li’l’ lamb! … Continue Reading …
A – B – C – D – E – F – G – H – I – J – K – L – M – N – O – P – Q – R – S – T – U – V – W – X – Y – Z
I – J
If
If life were but a dream, my Love,
And death the waking time;
If day had not a beam, my Love, … Continue Reading …
In An English Garden
In this old garden, fair, I walk to-day
Heart-charmed with all the beauty of the scene:
The rich, luxuriant grasses’ cooling green, … Continue Reading …
In August
When August days are hot an’ dry,
When burning copper is the sky,
I ‘d rather fish than feast or fly … Continue Reading …
In May
Oh to have you in May,
To talk with you under the trees,
Dreaming throughout the day, … Continue Reading …
In Summer
Oh, summer has clothed the earth
In a cloak from the loom of the sun!
And a mantle, too, of the skies’ soft blue, … Continue Reading …
In Summer Time
When summer time has come, and all
The world is in the magic thrall
Of perfumed airs that lull each sense … Continue Reading …
In The Morning
‘Lias! ‘Lias! Bless de Lawd!
Don’ you know de day’s erbroad?
Ef you don’ git up, you scamp, … Continue Reading …
In The Tents Of Akbar
In the tents of Akbar
Are dole and grief to-day,
For the flower of all the Indies … Continue Reading …
Inspiration
At the golden gate of song
Stood I, knocking all day long,
But the Angel, calm and cold, … Continue Reading …
Invitation to Love
Come when the nights are bright with stars
Or when the moon is mellow;
Come when the sun his golden bars … Continue Reading …
Ione
Ah, yes, ‘t is sweet still to remember,
Though ’twere less painful to forget;
For while my heart glows like an ember, … Continue Reading …
Itching Heels
Fu’ de peace o’ my eachin’ heels, set down;
Don’ fiddle dat chune no mo’.
Don’ you see how dat melody stuhs me up … Continue Reading …
James Whitcomb Riley
No matter what you call it,
Whether genius, or art,
He sings the simple songs that come … Continue Reading …
Jealous
Hyeah come Cæsar Higgins,
Don’t he think he ‘s fine?
Look at dem new riggin’s … Continue Reading …
Jilted
Lucy done gone back on me,
Dat’s de way wif life.
Evaht’ing was movin’ free, … Continue Reading …
Joggin’ Erlong
De da’kest hour, dey allus say,
Is des’ befo’ de dawn,
But it’s moughty ha’d a-waitin’ … Continue Reading …
Johnny Speaks
The sand-man he’s a jolly old fellow,
His face is kind and his voice is mellow,
But he makes your eyelids as heavy as lead, … Continue Reading …
Just Whistle A Bit
Just whistle a bit, if the day be dark,
And the sky be overcast:
If mute be the voice of the piping lark, … Continue Reading …
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K
Keep A-Pluggin’ Away
I ‘ve a humble little motto
That is homely, though it ‘s true,—
Keep a-pluggin’ away. … Continue Reading …
Keep A Song Up On De Way
Oh, de clouds is mighty heavy
An’ de rain is mighty thick;
Keep a song up on de way. … Continue Reading …
Kidnaped
I held my heart so far from harm,
I let it wander far and free
In mead and mart, without alarm, … Continue Reading …
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L
Life
A crust of bread and a corner to sleep in,
A minute to smile and an hour to weep in,
A pint of joy to a peck of trouble, … Continue Reading …
Life’s Tragedy
It may be misery not to sing at all
And to go silent through the brimming day.
It may be sorrow never to be loved, … Continue Reading …
Li’l’ Gal
Oh, de weathah it is balmy an’ de breeze is sighin’ low.
Li’l’ gal,
An’ de mockin’ bird is singin’ in de locus’ by de do’, … Continue Reading …
Limitations
Ef you’s only got de powah fe’ to blow a little whistle,
Keep ermong de people wid de whistles.
Ef you don’t, you’ll fin’ out sho’tly dat you’s th’owed yo’ fines’ feelin’ … Continue Reading …
Lincoln
Hurt was the nation with a mighty wound,
And all her ways were filled with clam’rous sound.
Wailed loud the South with unremitting grief, … Continue Reading …
Little Brown Baby
Little brown baby wif spa’klin’ eyes,
Come to yo’ pappy an’ set on his knee.
What you been doin’, suh—makin’ san’ pies? … Continue Reading …
Little Lucy Landman
Oh, the day has set me dreaming
In a strange, half solemn way
Of the feelings I experienced … Continue Reading …
Liza May
Little brown face full of smiles,
And a baby’s guileless wiles,
Liza May, Liza May. … Continue Reading …
Lonesome
Mother ‘s gone a-visitin’ to spend a month er two,
An’, oh, the house is lonesome ez a nest whose birds has flew
To other trees to build ag’in; the rooms seem jest so bare … Continue Reading …
Long Ago
De ol’ time’s gone, de new time’s hyeah
Wid all hits fuss an’ feddahs;
I done fu’got de joy an’ cheah … Continue Reading …
‘Long To’ds Night
Daih ‘s a moughty soothin’ feelin’
Hits a dahky man,
‘Long to’ds night. … Continue Reading …
Longing
If you could sit with me beside the sea to-day,
And whisper with me sweetest dreamings o’er and o’er;
I think I should not find the clouds so dim and gray, … Continue Reading …
Love
A life was mine full of the close concern
Of many-voiced affairs. The world sped fast;
Behind me, ever rolled a pregnant past. … Continue Reading …
Love And Grief
Out of my heart, one treach’rous winter’s day,
I locked young Love and threw the key away. … Continue Reading …
Love Despoiled
As lone I sat one summer’s day,
With mien dejected, Love came by;
His face distraught, his locks astray, … Continue Reading …
Love-Song
If Death should claim me for her own to-day,
And softly I should falter from your side,
Oh, tell me, loved one, would my memory stay, … Continue Reading …
Lover’s Lane
Summah night an’ sighin’ breeze,
‘Long de lovah’s lane;
Frien’ly, shadder-mekin’ trees, … Continue Reading …
Love’s Apotheosis
Love me. I care not what the circling years
To me may do.
If, but in spite of time and tears, … Continue Reading …
Love’s Castle
Key and bar, key and bar,
Iron bolt and chain!
And what will you do when the King comes … Continue Reading …
Love’s Chastening
Once Love grew bold and arrogant of air,
Proud of the youth that made him fresh and fair; … Continue Reading …
Love’s Draft
The draft of love was cool and sweet
You gave me in the cup,
But, ah, love’s fire is keen and fleet, … Continue Reading …
Love’s Humility
As some rapt gazer on the lowly earth,
Looks up to radiant planets, ranging far, … Continue Reading …
Love’s Phases
Love hath the wings of the butterfly,
Oh, clasp him but gently,
Pausing and dipping and fluttering by … Continue Reading …
Love’s Pictures
Like the blush upon the rose
When the wooing south wind speaks,
Kissing soft its petals, … Continue Reading …
Love’s Seasons
When the bees are humming in the honeysuckle vine
And the summer days are in their bloom,
Then my love is deepest, oh, dearest heart of mine, … Continue Reading …
Lullaby
Bedtime ‘s come fu’ little boys.
Po’ little lamb.
Too tiahed out to make a noise, … Continue Reading …
Lyrics Of Love And Sorrow
Love is the light of the world, my dear,
Heigho, but the world is gloomy;
The light has failed and the lamp down hurled, … Continue Reading …
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M
Mare Rubrum
In Life’s Red Sea with faith I plant my feet,
And wait the sound of that sustaining word
Which long ago the men of Israel heard, … Continue Reading …
Melancholia
Silently without my window,
Tapping gently at the pane,
Falls the rain. … Continue Reading …
Merry Autumn
It’s all a farce,—these tales they tell
About the breezes sighing,
And moans astir o’er field and dell, … Continue Reading …
Misapprehension
Out of my heart, one day, I wrote a song,
With my heart’s blood imbued,
Instinct with passion, tremulously strong, … Continue Reading …
Morning
The mist has left the greening plain,
The dew-drops shine like fairy rain,
The coquette rose awakes again … Continue Reading …
Morning Song Of Love
Darling, my darling, my heart is on the wing,
It flies to thee this morning like a bird,
Like happy birds in springtime my spirits soar and sing, … Continue Reading …
Mortality
Ashes to ashes, dust unto dust,
What of his loving, what of his lust?
What of his passion, what of his pain? … Continue Reading …
My Corn-Cob Pipe
Men may sing of their Havanas, elevating to the stars
The real or fancied virtues of their foreign-made cigars;
But I worship Nicotina at a different sort of shrine, … Continue Reading …
My Lady Of Castle Grand
Gray is the palace where she dwells,
Grimly the poplars stand
There by the window where she sits, … Continue Reading …
My Little March Girl
Come to the pane, draw the curtain apart,
There she is passing, the girl of my heart;
See where she walks like a queen in the street, … Continue Reading …
My Sort O’ Man
I don’t believe in ‘ristercrats
An’ never did, you see;
The plain ol’ homelike sorter folks … Continue Reading …
My Sweet Brown Gal
W’en de clouds is hangin’ heavy in de sky,
An’ de win’s ‘s a-taihin’ moughty vig’rous by,
I don’ go a-sighin’ all erlong de way; … Continue Reading …
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N
Night
Silence, and whirling worlds afar
Through all encircling skies.
What floods come o’er the spirit’s bar, … Continue Reading …
Night, Dim Night
Night, dim night, and it rains, my love, it rains,
(Art thou dreaming of me, I wonder)
The trees are sad, and the wind complains, … Continue Reading …
Night of Love
The moon has left the sky, love,
The stars are hiding now,
And frowning on the world, love, … Continue Reading …
Noddin’ By De Fire
Some folks t’inks hit’s right an’ p’opah,
Soon ez bedtime come erroun’,
Fu’ to scramble to de kiver, … Continue Reading …
Nora: a Serenade
Ah, Nora, my Nora, the light fades away,
While Night like a spirit steals up o’er the hills;
The thrush from his tree where he chanted all day, … Continue Reading …
Not They Who Soar
Not they who soar, but they who plod
Their rugged way, unhelped, to God
Are heroes; they who higher fare, … Continue Reading …
Noon
Shadder in de valley
Sunlight on de hill,
Sut’ny wish dat locus’ … Continue Reading …
Nutting Song
The November sun invites me,
And although the chill wind smites me,
I will wander to the woodland … Continue Reading …
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O
October
October is the treasurer of the year,
And all the months pay bounty to her store;
The fields and orchards still their tribute bear, … Continue Reading …
Ode for Memorial Day
Done are the toils and the wearisome marches,
Done is the summons of bugle and drum.
Softly and sweetly the sky over-arches, … Continue Reading …
Ode to Ethiopia
O Mother Race! to thee I bring
This pledge of faith unwavering,
This tribute to thy glory. … Continue Reading …
On An Old Book With Uncut Leaves
Emblem of blasted hope and lost desire,
No finger ever traced thy yellow page
Save Time’s. Thou hast not wrought to noble rage … Continue Reading …
On Its New Slavery
Heart of the Southland, heed me pleading now,
Who bearest, unashamed, upon my brow
The long kiss of the loving tropic sun, … Continue Reading …
On The Death Of W. C.
Thou arrant robber, Death!
Couldst thou not find
Some lesser one than he … Continue Reading …
On The River
The sun is low,
The waters flow,
My boat is dancing to and fro. … Continue Reading …
On The Road
I ‘s boun’ to see my gal to-night—
Oh, lone de way, my dearie!
De moon ain’t out, de stars ain’t bright— … Continue Reading …
On The Sea Wall
I sit upon the old sea wall,
And watch the shimmering sea,
Where soft and white the moonbeams fall, … Continue Reading …
One Life
Oh, I am hurt to death, my Love;
The shafts of Fate have pierced my striving heart,
And I am sick and weary of … Continue Reading …
Opportunity
Granny’s gone a-visitin’,
Seen huh git huh shawl
W’en I was a-hidin’ down … Continue Reading …
Over The Hills
Over the hills and the valleys of dreaming
Slowly I take my way.
Life is the night with its dream-visions teeming, … Continue Reading …
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P
Parted
De breeze is blowin’ ‘cross de bay.
My lady, my lady;
De ship hit teks me far away, … Continue Reading …
Parted
She wrapped her soul in a lace of lies,
With a prime deceit to pin it;
And I thought I was gaining a fearsome prize, … Continue Reading …
Passion and Love
A maiden wept and, as a comforter,
Came one who cried, “I love thee,” and he seized
Her in his arms and kissed her with hot breath, … Continue Reading …
Philosophy
I been t’inkin’ ’bout de preachah; whut he said de othah night,
‘Bout hit bein’ people’s dooty, fu’ to keep dey faces bright;
How one ought to live so pleasant dat ouah tempah never riles, … Continue Reading …
Phyllis
Phyllis, ah, Phyllis, my life is a gray day,
Few are my years, but my griefs are not few,
Ever to youth should each day be a May-day, … Continue Reading …
Poor Withered Rose
Poor withered rose, she gave it me,
Half in revenge and half in glee; … Continue Reading …
Possession
Whose little lady is you, chile,
Whose little gal is you?
What’s de use o’ kiver’n up yo’ face? … Continue Reading …
Possum
Ef dey ‘s anyt’ing dat riles me
An’ jes’ gits me out o’ hitch,
Twell I want to tek my coat off, … Continue Reading …
Possum Trot
I ‘ve journeyed ‘roun’ consid’able, a-seein’ men an’ things,
An’ I ‘ve learned a little of the sense that meetin’ people brings;
But in spite of all my travelling an’ of all I think I know, … Continue Reading …
Precedent
The poor man went to the rich man’s doors,
“I come as Lazarus came,” he said. … Continue Reading …
Premonition
Dear heart, good-night!
Nay, list awhile that sweet voice singing
When the world is all so bright, … Continue Reading …
Preparation
The little bird sits in the nest and sings
A shy, soft song to the morning light;
And it flutters a little and prunes its wings. … Continue Reading …
Prometheus
Prometheus stole from Heaven the sacred fire
And swept to earth with it o’er land and sea.
He lit the vestal flames of poesy, … Continue Reading …
Promise
I grew a rose within a garden fair,
And, tending it with more than loving care,
I thought how, with the glory of its bloom, … Continue Reading …
Protest
Who say my hea’t ain’t true to you?
Dey bettah heish dey mouf.
I knows I loves you thoo an’ thoo … Continue Reading …
Puttin’ The Baby Away
Eight of ’em hyeah all tol’ an’ yet
Dese eyes o’ mine is wringin’ wet;
My haht’s a-achin’ ha’d an’ so’, … Continue Reading …
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Q
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R
Rain-Songs
The rain streams down like harp-strings from the sky;
The wind, that world-old harpist sitteth by; … Continue Reading …
Religion
I am no priest of crooks nor creeds,
For human wants and human needs
Are more to me than prophets’ deeds; … Continue Reading …
Reluctance
Will I have some mo’ dat pie?
No, ma’am, thank-ee, dat is—I—
Bettah quit daihin’ me. … Continue Reading …
Remembered
She sang, and I listened the whole song thro’.
(It was sweet, so sweet, the singing.)
The stars were out and the moon it grew … Continue Reading …
Resignation
Long had I grieved at what I deemed abuse;
But now I am as grain within the mill. … Continue Reading …
Reponse
When Phyllis sighs and from her eyes
The light dies out; my soul replies
With misery of deep-drawn breath, … Continue Reading …
Retort
“Thou art a fool,” said my head to my heart,
“Indeed, the greatest of fools thou art,
To be led astray by the trick of a tress, … Continue Reading …
Retrospection
When you and I were young, the days
Were filled with scent of pink and rose,
And full of joy from dawn till close, … Continue Reading …
Riding to Town
When labor is light and the morning is fair,
I find it a pleasure beyond all compare
To hitch up my nag and go hurrying down … Continue Reading …
Right’s Security
What if the wind do howl without,
And turn the creaking weather-vane;
What if the arrows of the rain … Continue Reading …
Robert Gould Shaw
Why was it that the thunder voice of Fate
Should call thee, studious, from the classic groves,
Where calm-eyed Pallas with still footstep roves, … Continue Reading …
Roses
Oh, wind of the spring-time, oh, free wind of May,
When blossoms and bird-song are rife;
Oh, joy for the season, and joy for the day, … Continue Reading …
Roses And Pearls
Your spoken words are roses fine and sweet,
The songs you sing are perfect pearls of sound.
How lavish nature is about your feet, … Continue Reading …
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S
Scamp
Ain’t it nice to have a mammy
W’en you kin’ o’ tiahed out
Wid a-playin’ in de meddah, … Continue Reading …
She Gave Me A Rose
She gave a rose,
And I kissed it and pressed it.
I love her, she knows, … Continue Reading …
She Told Her Beads
She told her beads with down-cast eyes,
Within the ancient chapel dim;
And ever as her fingers slim … Continue Reading …
Ships That Pass in the Night
Out in the sky the great dark clouds are massing;
I look far out into the pregnant night,
Where I can hear a solemn booming gun … Continue Reading …
Signs Of The Times
Air a-gittin’ cool an’ coolah,
Frost a-comin’ in de night,
Hicka’ nuts an’ wa’nuts fallin’, … Continue Reading …
Silence
‘T is better to sit here beside the sea,
Here on the spray-kissed beach, … Continue Reading …
Slow Through The Dark
Slow moves the pageant of a climbing race;
Their footsteps drag far, far below the height,
And, unprevailing by their utmost might, … Continue Reading …
Snowin’
Dey is snow upon de meddahs, dey is snow upon de hill,
An’ de little branch’s watahs is all glistenin’ an’ still;
De win’ goes roun’ de cabin lak a sperrit wan’erin’ ‘roun’. … Continue Reading …
Soliloquy Of A Turkey
Dey ‘s a so’t o’ threatenin’ feelin’ in de blowin’ of de breeze,
An’ I ‘s feelin’ kin’ o’ squeamish in de night;
I ‘s a-walkin’ ‘roun’ a-lookin’ at de diffunt style o’ trees, … Continue Reading …
Song
My heart to thy heart,
My hand to thine;
My lip to thy lips, … Continue Reading …
Song
Wintah, summah, snow er shine,
Hit’s all de same to me,
Ef only I kin call you mine, … Continue Reading …
Song of Summer
Dis is gospel weathah sho’—
Hills is sawt o’ hazy.
Meddahs level ez a flo’ … Continue Reading …
Speakin’ At De Cou’t-House
Dey been speakin’ at de cou’t-house,
An’ laws-a-massy me,
‘T was de beatness kin’ o’ doin’s … Continue Reading …
Speakin’ O’ Christmas
Breezes blowin’ middlin’ brisk,
Snow-flakes thro’ the air a-whisk,
Fallin’ kind o’ soft an’ light, … Continue Reading …
Spring Fever
Grass commence a-comin’
Thoo de thawin’ groun’,
Evah bird dat whistles … Continue Reading …
Spring Song
A blue-bell springs upon the ledge,
A lark sits singing in the hedge;
Sweet perfumes scent the balmy air, … Continue Reading …
Sunset
The river sleeps beneath the sky,
And clasps the shadows to its breast;
The crescent moon shines dim on high; … Continue Reading …
Suppose
If ’twere fair to suppose
That your heart were not taken,
That the dew from the rose … Continue Reading …
Sympathy
I know what the caged bird feels, alas!
When the sun is bright on the upland slopes;
When the wind stirs soft through the springing grass, … Continue Reading …
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T
Temptation
I done got ‘uligion, honey, an’ I ‘s happy ez a king;
Evahthing I see erbout me ‘s jes’ lak sunshine in de spring;
An’ it seems lak I do’ want to do anothah blessid thing … Continue Reading …
The Awakening
I did not know that life could be so sweet,
I did not know the hours could speed so fleet,
Till I knew you, and life was sweet again. … Continue Reading …
The Barrier
The Midnight wooed the Morning-Star,
And prayed her: “Love come nearer;
Your swinging coldly there afar … Continue Reading …
The Bohemian
Bring me the livery of no other man.
I am my own to robe me at my pleasure. … Continue Reading …
The Boogah Man
W’en de evenin’ shadders
Come a-glidin’ down,
Fallin’ black an’ heavy … Continue Reading …
The Capture
Duck come switchin’ ‘cross de lot
Hi, oh, Miss Lady!
Hurry up an’ hide de pot … Continue Reading …
The Change Has Come
The change has come, and Helen sleeps—
Not sleeps; but wakes to greater deeps
Of wisdom, glory, truth, and light, … Continue Reading …
The Change
Love used to carry a bow, you know,
But now he carries a taper;
It is either a length of wax aglow, … Continue Reading …
The Chase
The wind told the little leaves to hurry,
And chased them down the way,
While the mother tree laughed loud in glee, … Continue Reading …
The Colored Band
Wen de colo’ed ban’ comes ma’chin’ down de street,
Don’t you people stan’ daih starin’; lif yo’ feet!
Ain’t dey playin’? Hip, hooray! … Continue Reading …
The Colored Soldiers
If the muse were mine to tempt it
And my feeble voice were strong,
If my tongue were trained to measures, … Continue Reading …
The Conquerors
Round the wide earth, from the red field your valour has won,
Blown with the breath of the far-speaking gun,
Goes the word. … Continue Reading …
The Corn-Stalk Fiddle
When the corn ‘s all cut and the bright stalks shine
Like the burnished spears of a field of gold;
When the field-mice rich on the nubbins dine, … Continue Reading …
The Crisis
A man of low degree was sore oppressed,
Fate held him under iron-handed sway,
And ever, those who saw him thus distressed … Continue Reading …
The Dance
Heel and toe, heel and toe,
That is the song we sing;
Turn to your partner and curtsey low, … Continue Reading …
The Death Of The First Born
Cover him over with daisies white
And eke with the poppies red,
Sit with me here by his couch to-night, … Continue Reading …
The Debt
This is the debt I pay
Just for one riotous day,
Years of regret and grief, … Continue Reading …
The Delinquent
Goo’-by, Jinks, I got to hump,
Got to mek dis pony jump;
See dat sun a-goin’ down … Continue Reading …
The Deserted Plantation
Oh, de grubbin’-hoe ‘s a-rustin’ in de co’nah,
An’ de plow ‘s a-tumblin’ down in de fiel’,
While de whippo’will ‘s a-wailin’ lak a mou’nah … Continue Reading …
The Dilettante: A Modern Type
He scribbles some in prose and verse,
And now and then he prints it;
He paints a little,—gathers some … Continue Reading …
The Discovery
These are the days of elfs and fays:
Who says that with the dreams of myth,
These imps and elves disport themselves? … Continue Reading …
The Disturber
Oh, what shall I do? I am wholly upset;
I am sure I ‘ll be jailed for a lunatic yet.
I ‘ll be out of a job—it’s the thing to expect … Continue Reading …
The Dove
Out of the sunshine and out of the heat,
Out of the dust of the grimy street,
A song fluttered down in the form of a dove, … Continue Reading …
The Dreamer
Temples he built and palaces of air,
And, with the artist’s parent-pride aglow,
His fancy saw his vague ideals grow … Continue Reading …
The End Of The Chapter
Ah, yes, the chapter ends to-day;
We even lay the book away;
But oh, how sweet the moments sped … Continue Reading …
The Farm Child’s Lullaby
Oh, the little bird is rocking in the cradle of the wind,
And it’s bye, my little wee one, bye;
The harvest all is gathered and the pippins all are binned; … Continue Reading …
The Fisher Child’s Lullaby
The wind is out in its rage to-night,
And your father is far at sea.
The rime on the window is hard and white … Continue Reading …
The Forest Greeting
Good hunting!—aye, good hunting,
Wherever the forests call;
But ever a heart beats hot with fear, … Continue Reading …
The Fount Of Tears
All hot and grimy from the road,
Dust gray from arduous years,
I sat me down and eased my load … Continue Reading …
The Garret
Within a London garret high,
Above the roofs and near the sky,
My ill-rewarding pen I ply … Continue Reading …
The Gourd
In the heavy earth the miner
Toiled and laboured day by day,
Wrenching from the miser mountain … Continue Reading …
The Haunted Oak
Pray why are you so bare, so bare,
Oh, bough of the old oak-tree;
And why, when I go through the shade you throw, … Continue Reading …
The King Is Dead
Aye, lay him in his grave, the old dead year!
His life is lived—fulfilled his destiny.
Have you for him no sad, regretful tear … Continue Reading …
The Knight
Our good knight, Ted, girds his broadsword on
(And he wields it well, I ween);
He ‘s on his steed, and away has gone … Continue Reading …
The Lapse
This poem must be done to-day;
Then, I ‘ll e’en to it.
I must not dream my time away,— … Continue Reading …
The Lawyers’ Ways
I ‘ve been list’nin’ to them lawyers
In the court house up the street,
An’ I ‘ve come to the conclusion … Continue Reading …
The Lesson
My cot was down by a cypress grove,
And I sat by my window the whole night long,
And heard well up from the deep dark wood … Continue Reading …
The Lily Of The Valley
Sweetest of the flowers a-blooming
In the fragrant vernal days
Is the Lily of the Valley … Continue Reading …
The Looking-Glass
Dinah stan’ befo’ de glass,
Lookin’ moughty neat,
An’ huh purty shadder sass … Continue Reading …
The Lover and the Moon
A lover whom duty called over the wave,
With himself communed: “Will my love be true
If left to herself? Had I better not sue … Continue Reading …
The Master-Player
An old, worn harp that had been played
Till all its strings were loose and frayed,
Joy, Hate, and Fear, each one essayed, … Continue Reading …
The Masters
Oh, who is the Lord of the land of life,
When hotly goes the fray?
When, fierce we smile in the midst of strife … Continue Reading …
The Meadow Lark
Though the winds be dank,
And the sky be sober,
And the grieving Day … Continue Reading …
The Memory Of Martha
Out in de night a sad bird moans,
An’, oh, but hit ‘s moughty lonely;
Times I kin sing, but mos’ I groans, … Continue Reading …
The Monk’s Walk
In this sombre garden close
What has come and passed, who knows?
What red passion, what white pain … Continue Reading …
The Mystery
I was not; now I am—a few days hence
I shall not be; I fain would look before
And after, but can neither do; some Power … Continue Reading …
The Mystic Sea
The smell of the sea in my nostrils,
The sound of the sea in mine ears;
The touch of the spray on my burning face, … Continue Reading …
The Murdered Lover
Say a mass for my soul’s repose, my brother,
Say a mass for my soul’s repose, I need it,
Lovingly lived we, the sons of one mother, … Continue Reading …
The News
Whut dat you whisperin’ keepin’ f’om me?
Don’t shut me out ’cause I ‘s ol’ an’ can’t see.
Somep’n’s gone wrong dat ‘s a-causin’ you dread,— … Continue Reading …
The Old Apple-tree
There’s a memory keeps a-runnin’
Through my weary head to-night,
An’ I see a picture dancin’ … Continue Reading …
The Old Cabin
In de dead of night I sometimes,
Git to t’inkin’ of de pas’
An’ de days w’en slavery helt me … Continue Reading …
The Old Front Gate
W’en daih ‘s chillun in de house,
Dey keep on a-gittin’ tall;
But de folks don’ seem to see … Continue Reading …
The Old Homestead
‘Tis an old deserted homestead
On the outskirts of the town,
Where the roof is all moss-covered, … Continue Reading …
The Ol’ Tunes
You kin talk about yer anthems
An’ yer arias an’ sich,
An’ yer modern choir-singin’ … Continue Reading …
The Paradox
I am the mother of sorrows,
I am the ender of grief;
I am the bud and the blossom, … Continue Reading …
The Party
Dey had a gread big pahty down to Tom’s de othah night;
Was I dah? You bet! I nevah in my life see sich a sight;
All de folks f’om fou’ plantations was invited, an’ dey come, … Continue Reading …
The Path
There are no beaten paths to Glory’s height,
There are no rules to compass greatness known;
Each for himself must cleave a path alone, … Continue Reading …
The Phantom Kiss
One night in my room, still and beamless,
With will and with thought in eclipse,
I rested in sleep that was dreamless; … Continue Reading …
The Photograph
See dis pictyah in my han’?
Dat’s my gal;
Ain’t she purty? goodness lan’! … Continue Reading …
The Place Where The Rainbow Ends
There’s a fabulous story
Full of splendor and glory,
That Arabian legends transcends; … Continue Reading …
The Plantation Child’s Lullaby
Wintah time hit comin’
Stealin’ thoo de night;
Wake up in the mo’nin’ … Continue Reading …
The Poet and His Song
A song is but a little thing,
And yet what joy it is to sing!
In hours of toil it gives me zest, … Continue Reading …
The Poet And The Baby
How’s a man to write a sonnet, can you tell,—
How’s he going to weave the dim, poetic spell,—
When a-toddling on the floor … Continue Reading …
The Poet
He sang of life, serenely sweet,
With, now and then, a deeper note.
From some high peak, nigh yet remote, … Continue Reading …
The Pool
By the pool that I see in my dreams, dear love,
I have sat with you time and again;
And listened beneath the dank leaves, dear love, … Continue Reading …
The Quilting
Dolly sits a-quilting by her mother, stich by stitch,
Gracious, how my pulses throb, how my fingers itch, … Continue Reading …
The Real Question
Folks is talkin’ ’bout de money, ’bout de silvah an’ de gold;
All de time de season ‘s changin’ an’ de days is gittin’ cold.
An’ dey ‘s wond’rin’ ’bout de metals, whethah we’ll have one er two. … Continue Reading …
The Right To Die
I have no fancy for that ancient cant
That makes us masters of our destinies,
And not our lives, to hold or give them up … Continue Reading …
The Rising Of The Storm
The lake’s dark breast
Is all unrest,
It heaves with a sob and a sigh. … Continue Reading …
The Rivals
‘T was three an’ thirty year ago,
When I was ruther young, you know,
I had my last an’ only fight … Continue Reading …
The River Of Ruin
Along by the river of ruin
They dally—the thoughtless ones,
They dance and they dream … Continue Reading …
The Sand-Man
I know a man
With face of tan,
But who is ever kind; … Continue Reading …
The Secret
What says the wind to the waving trees?
What says the wave to the river?
What means the sigh in the passing breeze? … Continue Reading …
The Seedling
As a quiet little seedling
Lay within its darksome bed,
To itself it fell a-talking, … Continue Reading …
The Song
My soul, lost in the music’s mist,
Roamed, rapt, ‘neath skies of amethyst.
The cheerless streets grew summer meads, … Continue Reading …
The Sparrow
A little bird, with plumage brown,
Beside my window flutters down,
A moment chirps its little strain, … Continue Reading …
The Spellin’-Bee
I never shall furgit that night when father hitched up Dobbin,
An’ all us youngsters clambered in an’ down the road went bobbin’
To school where we was kep’ at work in every kind o’ weather, … Continue Reading …
The Stirrup Cup
Come, drink a stirrup cup with me,
Before we close our rouse.
You ‘re all aglow with wine, I know: … Continue Reading …
The Sum
A little dreaming by the way,
A little toiling day by day;
A little pain, a little strife, … Continue Reading …
The Tryst
De night creep down erlong de lan’,
De shadders rise an’ shake,
De frog is sta’tin’ up his ban’, … Continue Reading …
The Turning Of The Babies In The Bed
Woman’s sho’ a cur’ous critter, an’ dey ain’t no doubtin’ dat.
She’s a mess o’ funny capahs f’om huh slippahs to huh hat.
Ef you tries to un’erstan’ huh, an’ you fails, des’ up an’ say: … Continue Reading …
The Unlucky Apple
‘Twas the apple that in Eden
Caused our father’s primal fall;
And the Trojan War, remember— … Continue Reading …
The Unsung Heroes
A song for the unsung heroes who rose in the country’s need,
When the life of the land was threatened by the slaver’s cruel greed,
For the men who came from the cornfield, who came from the plough and the flail, … Continue Reading …
The Valse
When to sweet music my lady is dancing
My heart to mild frenzy her beauty inspires.
Into my face are her brown eyes a-glancing, … Continue Reading …
The Veteran
Underneath the autumn sky,
Haltingly, the lines go by.
Ah, would steps were blithe and gay, … Continue Reading …
The Visitor
Little lady at de do’,
W’y you stan’ dey knockin’?
Nevah seen you ac’ befo’ … Continue Reading …
The Voice Of The Banjo
In a small and lonely cabin out of noisy traffic’s way,
Sat an old man, bent and feeble, dusk of face, and hair of gray,
And beside him on the table, battered, old, and worn as he, … Continue Reading …
The Warrior’s Prayer
Long since, in sore distress, I heard one pray,
“Lord, who prevailest with resistless might,
Ever from war and strife keep me away, … Continue Reading …
The Wind And The Sea
I stood by the shore at the death of day,
As the sun sank flaming red;
And the face of the waters that spread away … Continue Reading …
The Wooing
A youth went faring up and down,
Alack and well-a-day.
He fared him to the market town, … Continue Reading …
The Wraith
Ah me, it is cold and chill
And the fire sobs low in the grate,
While the wind rides by on the hill, … Continue Reading …
Then And Now
He loved her, and through many years,
Had paid his fair devoted court,
Until she wearied, and with sneers … Continue Reading …
Theology
There is a heaven, for ever, day by day,
The upward longing of my soul doth tell me so. … Continue Reading …
Thou Art My Lute
Thou art my lute, by thee I sing,—
My being is attuned to thee.
Thou settest all my words a-wing, … Continue Reading …
Till The Wind Gets Right
Oh the breeze is blowin’ balmy
An the sun is in a haze;
There’s a cloud jest givin’ coolness … Continue Reading …
Time To Tinker ‘Roun’!
Summah ‘s nice, wif sun a-shinin’,
Spring is good wif greens and grass,
An’ dey ‘s some t’ings nice ’bout wintah, … Continue Reading …
To A Captious Critic
Dear critic, who my lightness so deplores,
Would I might study to be prince of bores, … Continue Reading …
To A Lady Playing The Harp
Thy tones are silver melted into sound,
And as I dream
I see no walls around, … Continue Reading …
To A Dead Friend
It is as if a silver chord
Were suddenly grown mute,
And life’s song with its rhythm warred … Continue Reading …
To A Violet Found On All Saints’ Day
Belated wanderer of the ways of spring,
Lost in the chill of grim November rain,
Would I could read the message that you bring … Continue Reading …
To An Ingrate
This is to-day, a golden summer’s day
And yet—and yet
My vengeful soul will not forget … Continue Reading …
To Dan
Step me now a bridal measure,
Work give way to love and leisure,
Hearts be free and hearts be gay— … Continue Reading …
To E. H. K.
To me, like hauntings of a vagrant breath
From some far forest which I once have known,
The perfume of this flower of verse is blown. … Continue Reading …
To F. N.
Like sea-washed sand upon the shore,
So fine and clean the tale,
So clear and bright I almost see, … Continue Reading …
To Her
Your presence like a benison to me
Wakes my sick soul to dreamful ecstasy,
I fancy that some old Arabian night … Continue Reading …
To J. Q.
What are the things that make life bright?
A star gleam in the night.
What hearts us for the coming fray? … Continue Reading …
To Louise
Oh, the poets may sing of their Lady Irenes,
And may rave in their rhymes about wonderful queens;
But I throw my poetical wings to the breeze, … Continue Reading …
To My Friend Charles Booth Nettleton
The young queen Nature, ever sweet and fair,
Once on a time fell upon evil days.
From hearing oft herself discussed with praise, … Continue Reading …
To Pfrimmer
Driftwood gathered here and there
Along the beach of time;
Now and then a chip of truth … Continue Reading …
To The Eastern Shore
I ‘s feelin’ kin’ o’ lonesome in my little room to-night,
An’ my min ‘s done los’ de minutes an’ de miles,
Wile it teks me back a-flyin’ to de country of delight, … Continue Reading …
To The Memory Of Mary Young
God has his plans, and what if we
With our sight be too blind to see
Their full fruition; cannot he, … Continue Reading …
To The Miami
Kiss me, Miami, thou most constant one!
I love thee more for that thou changest not.
When Winter comes with frigid blast, … Continue Reading …
To The Road
Cool is the wind, for the summer is waning,
Who ‘s for the road?
Sun-flecked and soft, where the dead leaves are raining, … Continue Reading …
Trouble In De Kitchen
Dey was oncet a awful quoil ‘twixt de skillet an’ de pot;
De pot was des a-bilin’ an’ de skillet sho’ was hot.
Dey slurred each othah’s colah an’ dey called each othah names, … Continue Reading …
Tuskegee, Ala., April 22, 1901
Not to the midnight of the gloomy past,
Do we revert to-day; we look upon
The golden present and the future vast … Continue Reading …
Twell De Night Is Pas’
All de night long twell de moon goes down,
Lovin’ I set at huh feet,
Den fu’ de long jou’ney back f’om de town, … Continue Reading …
Twilight
‘Twixt a smile and a tear,
‘Twixt a song and a sigh,
‘Twixt the day and the dark, … Continue Reading …
Two Little Boots
Two little boots all rough an’ wo’,
Two little boots!
Law, I ‘s kissed ’em times befo’, … Continue Reading …
Two Songs
A bee that was searching for sweets one day
Through the gate of a rose garden happened to stray.
In the heart of a rose he hid away, … Continue Reading …
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U
Unexpressed
Deep in my heart that aches with the repression,
And strives with plenitude of bitter pain,
There lives a thought that clamors for expression, … Continue Reading …
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V
Vagrants
Long time ago, we two set out,
My soul and I.
I know not why, … Continue Reading …
Vengeance Is Sweet
When I was young I longed for Love,
And held his glory far above
All other earthly things. I cried: … Continue Reading …
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W – X – Y – Z
Wadin’ In De Crick
Days git wa’m an’ wa’mah,
School gits mighty dull,
Seems lak dese hyeah teachahs … Continue Reading …
Waiting
The sun has slipped his tether
And galloped down the west.
(Oh, it’s weary, weary waiting, love.) … Continue Reading …
We Wear the Mask
We wear the mask that grins and lies,
It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,—
This debt we pay to human guile; … Continue Reading …
Weltschmertz
You ask why I am sad to-day,
I have no cares, no griefs, you say?
Ah, yes, ‘t is true, I have no grief— … Continue Reading …
W’en I Gits Home
It’s moughty tiahsome layin’ ‘roun’
Dis sorrer-laden earfly groun’,
An’ oftentimes I thinks, thinks I, … Continue Reading …
What’s The Use
What’s the use o’ folks a-frownin’
When the way’s a little rough?
Frowns lay out the road fur smilin’ … Continue Reading …
When A Feller’s Itchin’ To Be Spanked
W’en us fellers stomp around, makin’ lots o’ noise,
Gramma says, “There’s certain times come to little boys
W’en they need a shingle or the soft side of a plank;” … Continue Reading …
When All Is Done
When all is done, and my last word is said,
And ye who loved me murmur, “He is dead,”
Let no one weep, for fear that I should know, … Continue Reading …
When de Co’n Pone’s Hot
Dey is times in life when Nature
Seems to slip a cog an’ go,
Jes’ a-rattlin’ down creation, … Continue Reading …
When Dey ‘Listed Colored Soldiers
Dey was talkin’ in de cabin, dey was talkin’ in de hall;
But I listened kin’ o’ keerless, not a-t’inkin’ ’bout it all;
An’ on Sunday, too, I noticed, dey was whisp’rin’ mighty much, … Continue Reading …
When Malindy Sings
G’way an’ quit dat noise, Miss Lucy—
Put dat music book away;
What’s de use to keep on tryin’? … Continue Reading …
When Sam’l Sings
Hyeah dat singin’ in de medders
Whaih de folks is mekin’ hay?
Wo’k is pretty middlin’ heavy … Continue Reading …
When The Old Man Smokes
In the forenoon’s restful quiet,
When the boys are off at school,
When the window lights are shaded … Continue Reading …
When Winter Darkening All Around
When winter covering all the ground
Hides every sign of Spring, sir.
However you may look around, … Continue Reading …
Whip-Poor-Will And Katy-Did
Slow de night ‘s a-fallin’,
An’ I hyeah de callin,
Out erpon de lonesome hill; … Continue Reading …
Whistling Sam
I has hyeahd o’ people dancin’ an’ I ‘s hyeahd o’ people singin’.
An’ I ‘s been ‘roun’ lots of othahs dat could keep de banjo ringin’;
But of all de whistlin’ da’kies dat have lived an’ died since Ham, … Continue Reading …
Whittier
Not o’er thy dust let there be spent
The gush of maudlin sentiment;
Such drift as that is not for thee, … Continue Reading …
Why Fades A Dream?
Why fades a dream?
An iridescent ray
Flecked in between the tryst … Continue Reading …
Winter-Song
Oh, who would be sad tho’ the sky be a-graying,
And meadow and woodlands are empty and bare;
For softly and merrily now there come playing, … Continue Reading …
Winter’s Approach
De sun hit shine an’ de win’ hit blow,
Ol’ Brer Rabbit be a-layin’ low,
He know dat de wintah time a-comin’, … Continue Reading …
With The Lark
Night is for sorrow and dawn is for joy,
Chasing the troubles that fret and annoy;
Darkness for sighing and daylight for song,— … Continue Reading …
Worn Out
You bid me hold my peace
And dry my fruitless tears,
Forgetting that I bear … Continue Reading …
Yesterday And To-Morrow
Yesterday I held your hand,
Reverently I pressed it,
And its gentle yieldingness … Continue Reading …
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Bilingual
American Literature – Children Books – American Poetry – Paul Laurence Dunbar – Poems by Paul Laurence Dunbar
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