Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar (eBook)

HE HAD HIS DREAM

  He had his dream, and all through life,

  Worked up to it through toil and strife.

  Afloat fore'er before his eyes,

  It colored for him all his skies:

      The storm-cloud dark

      Above his bark,

  The calm and listless vault of blue

  Took on its hopeful hue,

  It tinctured every passing beam--

      He had his dream.

  He labored hard and failed at last,

  His sails too weak to bear the blast,

  The raging tempests tore away

  And sent his beating bark astray.

      But what cared he

      For wind or sea!

  He said, "The tempest will be short,

  My bark will come to port."

  He saw through every cloud a gleam--

      He had his dream.

GOOD-NIGHT

  The lark is silent in his nest,

    The breeze is sighing in its flight,

  Sleep, Love, and peaceful be thy rest.

    Good-night, my love, good-night, good-night.

  Sweet dreams attend thee in thy sleep,

    To soothe thy rest till morning's light,

  And angels round thee vigil keep.

    Good-night, my love, good-night, good-night.

  Sleep well, my love, on night's dark breast,

    And ease thy soul with slumber bright;

  Be joy but thine and I am blest.

    Good-night, my love, good-night, good-night.

A COQUETTE CONQUERED

  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' de kin'.

  Phiny loves you true an' deah?

  Go ma'y Phiny; whut I keer?

  Oh, you need n't mou'n an' cry--

  I don't keer how soon you die.

  Got a present! Whut you got?

  Somef'n fu' de pan er pot!

  Huh! yo' sass do sholy beat--

  Think I don't git 'nough to eat?

  Whut's dat un'neaf yo' coat?

  Looks des lak a little shoat.

  'T ain't no possum! Bless de Lamb!

  Yes, it is, you rascal, Sam!

  Gin it to me; whut you say?

  Ain't you sma't now! Oh, go 'way!

  Possum do look mighty nice,

  But you ax too big a price.

  Tell me, is you talkin' true,

  Dat 's de gal's whut ma'ies you?

  Come back, Sam; now whah 's you gwine?

  Co'se you knows dat possum's mine!

NORA: A SERENADE

  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 all day,

    No longer his music in ecstasy trills.

  Then, Nora, be near me; thy presence doth cheer me,

    Thine eye hath a gleam that is truer than gold.

  I cannot but love thee; so do not reprove me,

    If the strength of my passion should make me too bold.

  Nora, pride of my heart--

    Rosy cheeks, cherry lips, sparkling with glee,--

  Wake from thy slumbers, wherever thou art;

    Wake from thy slumbers to me.

  Ah, Nora, my Nora, there 's love in the air,--

    It stirs in the numbers that thrill in my brain;

  Oh, sweet, sweet is love with its mingling of care,

    Though joy travels only a step before pain.

  Be roused from thy slumbers and list to my numbers;

  My heart is poured out in this song unto thee.

  Oh, be thou not cruel, thou treasure, thou jewel;

    Turn thine ear to my pleading and hearken to me.

OCTOBER

  October is the treasurer of the year,

    And all the months pay bounty to her store;

  The fields and orchards still their tribute bear,

    And fill her brimming coffers more and more.

  But she, with youthful lavishness,

  Spends all her wealth in gaudy dress,

    And decks herself in garments bold

    Of scarlet, purple, red, and gold.

  She heedeth not how swift the hours fly,

    But smiles and sings her happy life along;

  She only sees above a shining sky;

    She only hears the breezes' voice in song.

  Her garments trail the woodlands through,

  And gather pearls of early dew

    That sparkle, till the roguish Sun

    Creeps up and steals them every one.

  But what cares she that jewels should be lost,

    When all of Nature's bounteous wealth is hers?

  Though princely fortunes may have been their cost,

    Not one regret her calm demeanor stirs.

  Whole-hearted, happy, careless, free,

  She lives her life out joyously,

    Nor cares when Frost stalks o'er her way

    And turns her auburn locks to gray.

A SUMMER'S NIGHT

  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

  Up from the perfumed bosom of the South.

  Like sentinels, the pines stand in the park;

    And hither hastening, like rakes that roam,

    With lamps to light their wayward footsteps home,

  The fireflies come stagg'ring down the dark.

SHIPS THAT PASS IN THE NIGHT

  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 catch the gleaming of a random light,

  That tells me that the ship I seek is passing, passing.

  My tearful eyes my soul's deep hurt are glassing;

    For I would hail and check that ship of ships.

  I stretch my hands imploring, cry aloud,

    My voice falls dead a foot from mine own lips,

  And but its ghost doth reach that vessel, passing, passing.

  O Earth, O Sky, O Ocean, both surpassing,

    O heart of mine, O soul that dreads the dark!

  Is there no hope for me? Is there no way

    That I may sight and check that speeding bark

  Which out of sight and sound is passing, passing?

THE DELINQUENT

  Goo'-by, Jinks, I got to hump,

  Got to mek dis pony jump;

  See dat sun a-goin' down

  'N' me a-foolin' hyeah in town!

      Git up, Suke--go long!

  Guess Mirandy'll think I's tight,

  Me not home an' comin' on night.

  What 's dat stan'in' by de fence?

  Pshaw! why don't I lu'n some sense?

      Git up, Suke--go long!

  Guess I spent down dah at Jinks'

  Mos' a dollah fur de drinks.

  Bless yo'r soul, you see dat star?

  Lawd, but won't Mirandy rar?

      Git up, Suke--go long!

  Went dis mo'nin', hyeah it 's night,

  Dah 's de cabin dah in sight.

  Who's dat stan'in' in de do'?

  Dat must be Mirandy, sho',

      Git up, Suke--go long!

  Got de close-stick in huh han',

  Dat look funny, goodness lan',

  Sakes alibe, but she look glum!

  Hyeah, Mirandy, hyeah I come!

      Git up, Suke--go long!

    Ef 't had n't a' b'en fur you, you slow ole fool, I...