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Unexpressed

By Paul Laurence Dunbar

Topics: classic

Deep in my heart that aches with the repression,     And strives with plenitude of bitter pain,     There lives a thought that clamors for expression,     And spends its undelivered force in vain.     What boots it that some other may have thought it?     The right of thoughts' expression is divine;     The price of pain I pay for it has bought it,     I care not who lays claim to it--'t is mine!     And yet not mine until it be delivered;     The manner of its birth shall prove the test.     Alas, alas, my rock of pride is shivered--     I beat my brow--the thought still unexpressed.

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Author:Paul Laurence Dunbar

"Deep in my heart that aches with the repression,..." by Paul Laurence Dunbar

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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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