Paul Laurence Dunbar

"Standin' at de winder,     Feelin' kind o' glum,     Listenin' to de raindrops     Play de kettle drum,     Lookin' crost de medders     Swim"

"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 t"

"Dinah stan' befo' de glass,     Lookin' moughty neat,     An' huh purty shadder sass     At huh haid an' feet.     While she sasshay 'roun' an"

"Over the hills and the valleys of dreaming     Slowly I take my way.     Life is the night with its dream-visions teeming,     Death is the wak"

"Let those who will stride on their barren roads     And prick themselves to haste with self-made goads,     Unheeding, as they struggle day by d"

"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,     With hands u"

"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 s"

"Within a London garret high,     Above the roofs and near the sky,     My ill-rewarding pen I ply     To win me bread.     This little chamber"

"Seems lak folks is mighty curus     In de way dey t'inks an' ac's.     Dey jes' spen's dey days a-mixin'     Up de t'ings in almanacs.     Now"

"De breeze is blowin' 'cross de bay.     My lady, my lady;     De ship hit teks me far away,     My lady, my lady;     Ole Mas' done sol' me do"

"The trees bend down along the stream,     Where anchored swings my tiny boat.     The day is one to drowse and dream     And list the thrush's"

"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     Some"

"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"

"Seen my lady home las' night,     Jump back, honey, jump back.     Hel' huh han' an' sque'z it tight,     Jump back, honey, jump back.     Hye"

"Good hunting!--aye, good hunting,     Wherever the forests call;     But ever a heart beats hot with fear,     And what of the birds that fall?"

"A blue-bell springs upon the ledge,     A lark sits singing in the hedge;     Sweet perfumes scent the balmy air,     And life is brimming ever"

""In the fight at Brandywine, Black Samson, a giant negro armed with a scythe, sweeps his way through the red ranks...." C. M. Skinner's "Myths and"

"Long since, in sore distress, I heard one pray,     "Lord, who prevailest with resistless might,     Ever from war and strife keep me away,"

"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,"

"Mastah drink his ol' Made'a,     Missy drink huh sherry wine,     Ovahseah lak his whiskey,     But dat othah drink is mine,     Des' 'lasses"

"Not o'er thy dust let there be spent     The gush of maudlin sentiment;     Such drift as that is not for thee,     Whose life and deeds and so"

"Slow de night 's a-fallin',     An' I hyeah de callin,     Out erpon de lonesome hill;     Soun' is moughty dreary,     Solemn-lak an' skeery,"

"Why fades a dream?     An iridescent ray     Flecked in between the tryst     Of night and day.     Why fades a dream?--     Of consciousness"

"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     But dear, you are nea"

"In the east the morning comes,     Hear the rollin' of the drums     On the hill.     But the heart that beat as they beat     In the battle's"

"Yes, my ha't 's ez ha'd ez stone--     Go 'way, Sam, an' lemme 'lone.     No; I ain't gwine change my min'--     Ain't gwine ma'y you--nuffin'"

"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"

"Oh the breeze is blowin' balmy     An the sun is in a haze;     There's a cloud jest givin' coolness     To the laziest of days.     There are"

"The rain streams down like harp-strings from the sky;     The wind, that world-old harpist sitteth by;     And ever as he sings his low refrain,"

"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,"

"Will I have some mo' dat pie?     No, ma'am, thank-ee, dat is--I--     Bettah quit daihin' me.     Dat ah pie look sutny good:     How 'd you"

"O Mother Race! to thee I bring     This pledge of faith unwavering,     This tribute to thy glory.     I know the pangs which thou didst feel,"

"The snow lies deep upon the ground,     And winter's brightness all around     Decks bravely out the forest sere,     With jewels of the brave"

"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."

"If 'twere fair to suppose     That your heart were not taken,     That the dew from the rose     Petals still were not shaken,     I should pl"

"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 g"

"I think that though the clouds be dark,     That though the waves dash o'er the bark,     Yet after while the light will come,     And in calm"

"Two little boots all rough an' wo',     Two little boots!     Law, I 's kissed 'em times befo',     Dese little boots!     Seems de toes a-pee"

"Tim Murphy's gon' walkin' wid Maggie O'Neill,         O chone!     If I was her muther, I'd frown on sich foolin',         O chone!     I'm su"

"An old, worn harp that had been played     Till all its strings were loose and frayed,     Joy, Hate, and Fear, each one essayed,     To play."

"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"

"An old man planted and dug and tended,     Toiling in joy from dew to dew;     The sun was kind, and the rain befriended;     Fine grew his orc"

"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,     Runs a shudder ov"

"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,     And left me there to sig"

"Villain shows his indiscretion,     Villain's partner makes confession.     Juvenile, with golden tresses,     Finds her pa and dons long dress"

"Ah, I have changed, I do not know     Why lonely hours affect me so.     In days of yore, this were not wont,     No loneliness my soul could d"

"Storm and strife and stress,     Lost in a wilderness,     Groping to find a way,     Forth to the haunts of day     Sudden a vista peeps,"

"The draft of love was cool and sweet     You gave me in the cup,     But, ah, love's fire is keen and fleet,     And I am burning up.     Unl"

"You 'll be wonderin' whut 's de reason     I 's a grinnin' all de time,     An' I guess you t'ink my sperits     Mus' be feelin' mighty prime."

"When you and I were young, the days     Were filled with scent of pink and rose,     And full of joy from dawn till close,     From morning's m"

"What's the use o' folks a-frownin'     When the way's a little rough?     Frowns lay out the road fur smilin'     You'll be wrinkled soon enoug"

"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 nubbi"

"'Twixt a smile and a tear,     'Twixt a song and a sigh,     'Twixt the day and the dark,     When the night draweth nigh.     Ah, sunshine m"

"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,     But deeper grief"

"Little brown baby wif spa'klin' eyes,     Come to yo' pappy an' set on his knee.     What you been doin', suh--makin' san' pies?     Look at da"

"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,"

"Air a-gittin' cool an' coolah,     Frost a-comin' in de night,     Hicka' nuts an' wa'nuts fallin',     Possum keepin' out o' sight.     Tu'ke"

"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"

"I found you and I lost you,     All on a gleaming day.     The day was rilled with sunshine,     And the land was full of May.     A golden b"

"Since I left the city's heat     For this sylvan, cool retreat,     High upon the hill-side here     Where the air is clean and clear,     I h"