Paul Laurence Dunbar Poems

Hurt was the nation with a mighty wound,
And all her ways were filled with clam'rous sound.
Wailed loud the South with unremitting grief,
...

Night, dim night, and it rains, my love, it rains,
(Art thou dreaming of me, I wonder)
The trees are sad, and the wind complains,
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Darling, my darling, my heart is on the wing,
It flies to thee this morning like a bird,
Like happy birds in springtime my spirits soar and sing,
...

Storm and strife and stress,
Lost in a wilderness,
Groping to find a way,
Forth to the haunts of day
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At the golden gate of song
Stood I, knocking all day long,
But the Angel, calm and cold,
Still refused and bade me, 'Hold.'
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Oh, de weathah it is balmy an' de breeze is sighin' low.
Li'l' gal,
An' de mockin' bird is singin' in de locus' by de do',
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MAMMY'S in de kitchen, an' de do' is shet;
All de pickaninnies climb an' tug an' sweat,
Gittin' to de winder, stickin' dah lak flies,
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I KNOW my love is true,
And oh the day is fair.
The sky is dear and blue,
The flowers are rich of hue,
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MOTHER's gone a-visitin' to spend a month er two,
An', oh, the house is lonesome ez a nest whose birds has flew
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You 'll be wonderin' whut 's de reason
I 's a grinnin' all de time,
An' I guess you t'ink my sperits
...