Paul Laurence Dunbar

"Underneath the autumn sky,     Haltingly, the lines go by.     Ah, would steps were blithe and gay,     As when first they marched away,     S"

"The wind told the little leaves to hurry,     And chased them down the way,     While the mother tree laughed loud in glee,     For she thought"

"The sun is low,     The waters flow,     My boat is dancing to and fro.     The eve is still,     Yet from the hill     The killdeer echoes l"

"Let me close the eyes of my soul     That I may not see     What stands between thee and me.     Let me shut the ears of my heart     That I"

"I know a man     With face of tan,     But who is ever kind;     Whom girls and boys     Leaves games and toys     Each eventide to find."

"I     Beyond the years the answer lies,     Beyond where brood the grieving skies     And Night drops tears.     Where Faith rod-chastened smiles"

"Heart of the Southland, heed me pleading now,     Who bearest, unashamed, upon my brow     The long kiss of the loving tropic sun,     And yet,"

"At the golden gate of song     Stood I, knocking all day long,     But the Angel, calm and cold,     Still refused and bade me, "Hold."     T"

"Ashes to ashes, dust unto dust,     What of his loving, what of his lust?     What of his passion, what of his pain?     What of his poverty, w"

"The November sun invites me,     And although the chill wind smites me,     I will wander to the woodland     Where the laden trees await;"

"Oh, who is the Lord of the land of life,     When hotly goes the fray?     When, fierce we smile in the midst of strife     Then whom shall we"

"I don't believe in 'ristercrats     An' never did, you see;     The plain ol' homelike sorter folks     Is good enough fur me.     O' course,"

"Thou arrant robber, Death!     Couldst thou not find     Some lesser one than he     To rob of breath,--     Some poorer mind     Thy prey to"

"Summah 's nice, wif sun a-shinin',     Spring is good wif greens and grass,     An' dey 's some t'ings nice 'bout wintah,     Dough hit brings"

"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 w"

"They please me not--these solemn songs     That hint of sermons covered up.     'Tis true the world should heed its wrongs,     But in a poem l"

"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.     Sh"

"Ring out, ye bells!     All Nature swells     With gladness at the wondrous story,--     The world was lorn,     But Christ is born     To ch"

"Search thou my heart;     If there be guile,     It shall depart     Before thy smile.     Search thou my soul;     Be there deceit,     'T"

"Silence, and whirling worlds afar     Through all encircling skies.     What floods come o'er the spirit's bar,     What wondrous thoughts aris"

"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 fl"

"It's all a farce,--these tales they tell     About the breezes sighing,     And moans astir o'er field and dell,     Because the year is dying."

"Bones a-gittin' achy,     Back a-feelin' col',     Han's a-growin' shaky,     Jes' lak I was ol'.     Fros' erpon de meddah     Lookin' might"

"I     Four hundred years ago a tangled waste     Lay sleeping on the west Atlantic's side;     Their devious ways the Old World's millions traced"

"G'way an' quit dat noise, Miss Lucy--     Put dat music book away;     What's de use to keep on tryin'?     Ef you practise twell you 're gra"

"Dear critic, who my lightness so deplores,     Would I might study to be prince of bores,     Right wisely would I rule that dull estate--"

"My muvver's ist the nicest one     'At ever lived wiz folks;     She lets you have ze mostes' fun,     An' laffs at all your jokes.     I got"

"She gave a rose,     And I kissed it and pressed it.     I love her, she knows,     And my action confessed it.     She gave me a rose,     A"

"I had not known before     Forever was so long a word.     The slow stroke of the clock of time     I had not heard.     'Tis hard to learn s"

"In the tents of Akbar     Are dole and grief to-day,     For the flower of all the Indies     Has gone the silent way.     In the tents of Ak"

""Good-bye," I said to my conscience--     "Good-bye for aye and aye,"     And I put her hands off harshly,     And turned my face away;     An"

"This is to-day, a golden summer's day     And yet--and yet     My vengeful soul will not forget     The past, forever now forgot, you say."

"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     That"

"Not they who soar, but they who plod     Their rugged way, unhelped, to God     Are heroes; they who higher fare,     And, flying, fan the uppe"

"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 h"

"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--"

"Lucy done gone back on me,     Dat's de way wif life.     Evaht'ing was movin' free,     T'ought I had my wife.     Den some dahky comes along"

"I am the mother of sorrows,     I am the ender of grief;     I am the bud and the blossom,     I am the late-falling leaf.     I am thy pries"

"De way t'ings come, hit seems to me,     Is des' one monst'ous mystery;     De way hit seem to strike a man,     Dey ain't no sense, dey ain't"

"Come, essay a sprightly measure,     Tuned to some light song of pleasure.     Maidens, let your brows be crowned     As we foot this merry rou"

"TO MY FRIEND CHARLES BOOTH NETTLETON I     The young queen Nature, ever sweet and fair,     Once on a time fell upon evil days.     From hearing"

"It is as if a silver chord     Were suddenly grown mute,     And life's song with its rhythm warred     Against a silver lute.     It is as i"

"I've a humble little motto     That is homely, though it 's true,--     Keep a-pluggin' away.     It's a thing when I 've an object     That I"

"I be'n down in ole Kentucky     Fur a week er two, an' say,     'T wuz ez hard ez breakin' oxen     Fur to tear myse'f away.     Allus argerin"

"Tek a cool night, good an' cleah,     Skiff o' snow upon de groun';     Jes' 'bout fall-time o' de yeah     W'en de leaves is dry an brown;"

"If life were but a dream, my Love,     And death the waking time;     If day had not a beam, my Love,     And night had not a rhyme,--     A b"

"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     And"

"Grass commence a-comin'     Thoo de thawin' groun',     Evah bird dat whistles     Keepin' noise erroun';     Cain't sleep in de mo'nin',"

"W'en de evenin' shadders     Come a-glidin' down,     Fallin' black an' heavy     Ovah hill an' town,     Ef you listen keerful,     Keerful"

"Oh, awful Power whose works repel     The marvel of the earth's designs,--     I 'll hie me otherwhere to dwell,     Arcadia has trolley lines."

"How sweet the music sounded     That summer long ago,     When you were by my side, love,     To list its gentle flow.     I saw your eyes a-"

"Ain't it nice to have a mammy     W'en you kin' o' tiahed out     Wid a-playin' in de meddah,     An' a-runnin' roun' about     Till hit's mad"

"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     Is the"

"A lilt and a swing,     And a ditty to sing,     Or ever the night grow old;     The wine is within,     And I 'm sure 't were a sin     For"

"Bring me the livery of no other man.     I am my own to robe me at my pleasure.     Accepted rules to me disclose no treasure:     What is the"

"The change has come, and Helen sleeps--     Not sleeps; but wakes to greater deeps     Of wisdom, glory, truth, and light,     Than ever blesse"

"Outside the rain upon the street,     The sky all grim of hue,     Inside, the music-painful sweet,     And yet I heard but you.     As is a"

"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 d"

"Whose little lady is you, chile,     Whose little gal is you?     What's de use o' kiver'n up yo' face?     Chile, dat ain't de way to do."