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At Sunset Time

By Paul Laurence Dunbar

Topics: classic

Adown the west a golden glow     Sinks burning in the sea,     And all the dreams of long ago     Come flooding back to me.     The past has writ a story strange     Upon my aching heart,     But time has wrought a subtle change,     My wounds have ceased to smart.     No more the quick delight of youth,     No more the sudden pain,     I look no more for trust or truth     Where greed may compass gain.     What, was it I who bared my heart     Through unrelenting years,     And knew the sting of misery's dart,     The tang of sorrow's tears?     'Tis better now, I do not weep,     I do not laugh nor care;     My soul and spirit half asleep     Drift aimless everywhere.     We float upon a sluggish stream,     We ride no rapids mad,     While life is all a tempered dream     And every joy half sad.

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"Adown the west a golden glow..."

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Author:Paul Laurence Dunbar

"Adown the west a golden glow..." by Paul Laurence Dunbar

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"The Text is taken from Percy's Reliques (1765), vol. i. p. 71, 'given from two MS. copies, transmitted from Scotland.' Herd had a very similar bal"

Paul Laurence Dunbar

About Paul Laurence Dunbar

Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872–1906) was an American poet and novelist who was one of the first African-American writers to gain national prominence. His poems in dialect—including "When Malindy Sings"—and standard English explore Black life with humor, pathos, and dignity.

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"As lone I sat one summer's day,     With mien deje..."

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