Paul Laurence Dunbar

"O Lord, the hard-won miles     Have worn my stumbling feet:     Oh, soothe me with thy smiles,     And make my life complete.     The thorns"

"You bid me hold my peace     And dry my fruitless tears,     Forgetting that I bear     A pain beyond my years.     You say that I should smi"

"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,     I kin hyeah it a"

"Days git wa'm an' wa'mah,     School gits mighty dull,     Seems lak dese hyeah teachahs     Mus' feel mussiful.     Hookey's wrong, I know"

"'Twas the apple that in Eden     Caused our father's primal fall;     And the Trojan War, remember--     'Twas an apple caused it all.     So"

"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,"

"Round the wide earth, from the red field your valour has won,     Blown with the breath of the far-speaking gun,         Goes the word.     Bra"

"I sit upon the old sea wall,     And watch the shimmering sea,     Where soft and white the moonbeams fall,     Till, in a fantasy,     Some p"

"De trees is bendin' in de sto'm,     De rain done hid de mountain's fo'm,     I 's 'lone an' in distress.     But listen, dah 's a voice I hyea"

"Wen de snow 's a-fallin'     An' de win' is col'.     Mammy 'mence a-callin',     Den she 'mence to scol',     "Lucius Lishy Brackett,     Do"

"In this sombre garden close     What has come and passed, who knows?     What red passion, what white pain     Haunted this dim walk in vain?"

""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,     By"

"When storms arise     And dark'ning skies     About me threat'ning lower,     To thee, O Lord, I raise mine eyes,     To thee my tortured spir"

"Out of my heart, one treach'rous winter's day,     I locked young Love and threw the key away.     Grief, wandering widely, found the key,"

"'Tis fine to play     In the fragrant hay,     And romp on the golden load;     To ride old Jack     To the barn and back,     Or tramp by a"

"Kiss me, Miami, thou most constant one!     I love thee more for that thou changest not.     When Winter comes with frigid blast,     Or when t"

"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     Or lack of"

"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,     And the"

"The mist has left the greening plain,     The dew-drops shine like fairy rain,     The coquette rose awakes again     Her lovely self adorning."

"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"

"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,     Like the mist of"

"Dey been speakin' at de cou't-house,     An' laws-a-massy me,     'T was de beatness kin' o' doin's     Dat evah I did see.     Of cose I had"

"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, to"

"There's a fabulous story     Full of splendor and glory,     That Arabian legends transcends;     Of the wealth without measure,     The coffe"

"De sun hit shine an' de win' hit blow,     Ol' Brer Rabbit be a-layin' low,     He know dat de wintah time a-comin',     De huntah man he walk"

"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,     And it b"

"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."

"Cool is the wind, for the summer is waning,     Who 's for the road?     Sun-flecked and soft, where the dead leaves are raining,     Who 's fo"

"The sun hath shed its kindly light,     Our harvesting is gladly o'er     Our fields have felt no killing blight,     Our bins are filled with"

"'Tis an old deserted homestead     On the outskirts of the town,     Where the roof is all moss-covered,     And the walls are tumbling down;"

"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 pipp"

"Sweetest of the flowers a-blooming     In the fragrant vernal days     Is the Lily of the Valley     With its soft, retiring ways.     Well,"

"If the muse were mine to tempt it     And my feeble voice were strong,     If my tongue were trained to measures,     I would sing a stirring s"

"Belated wanderer of the ways of spring,     Lost in the chill of grim November rain,     Would I could read the message that you bring     And"

"Slow moves the pageant of a climbing race;     Their footsteps drag far, far below the height,     And, unprevailing by their utmost might,"

"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-Up"

"This is the debt I pay     Just for one riotous day,     Years of regret and grief,     Sorrow without relief.     Pay it I will to the end--"

"(From a Westerner's Point of View.)     No matter what you call it,     Whether genius, or art,     He sings the simple songs that come     T"

"With what thou gavest me, O Master,     I have wrought.     Such chances, such abilities,     To see the end was not for my poor eyes,     Thi"

"Not to the midnight of the gloomy past,     Do we revert to-day; we look upon     The golden present and the future vast     Whose vistas show"

"Daih 's a moughty soothin' feelin'     Hits a dahky man,     'Long to'ds night.     W'en de row is mos' nigh ended,     Den he stops to fan,"

"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,     Wh"

"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 ou"

"On the wide veranda white,     In the purple failing light,     Sits the master while the sun is lowly burning;     And his dreamy thoughts are"

"The sky of brightest gray seems dark     To one whose sky was ever white.     To one who never knew a spark,     Thro' all his life, of love or"

"God has his plans, and what if we     With our sight be too blind to see     Their full fruition; cannot he,     Who made it, solve the mystery"

"Bedtime 's come fu' little boys.     Po' little lamb.     Too tiahed out to make a noise,     Po' little lamb.     You gwine t' have to-morrer"

"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.     Th"

"Who dat knockin' at de do'?     Why, Ike Johnson,--yes, fu' sho!     Come in, Ike. I 's mighty glad     You come down. I t'ought you 's mad"

"Ah, yes, the chapter ends to-day;     We even lay the book away;     But oh, how sweet the moments sped     Before the final page was read!"

"W'en you full o' worry     'Bout yo' wo'k an' sich,     W'en you kind o' bothered     Case you can't get rich,     An' yo' neighboh p'ospah"

"Seen you down at chu'ch las' night,     Nevah min', Miss Lucy.     What I mean? oh, dat 's all right,     Nevah min', Miss Lucy.     You was s"

"Love me. I care not what the circling years     To me may do.     If, but in spite of time and tears,     You prove but true.     Love me--al"

"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'n"

"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"

"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:     Oh,"

"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 fri"

"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     U"

"It's moughty tiahsome layin' 'roun'     Dis sorrer-laden earfly groun',     An' oftentimes I thinks, thinks I,     'T would be a sweet t'ing de"

"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 a"