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.
She spoke to consciences that long had slept:
Her message, Freedom’s clear reveille, swept
From heedless hovel to complacent throne.
Command and prophecy were in the tone,
And from its sheath the sword of...
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“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 a smiling face or a ribbon smart;”
And my heart was in sore distress.Then Phyllis came by, and her face was fair,
The light gleamed soft on her raven hair;
And her lips were blooming a rosy red.... -
I’ S boun’ to see my gal to-night—
Oh, lone de way, my dearie!
De moon ain’t out, de stars ain’t bright—
Oh, lone de way, my dearie!
Dis hoss o’ mine is pow’ful slow,
But when I does git to yo’ do’
Yo’ kiss ’ll pay me back, an’ mo’,
Dough lone de way, my dearie.De night is skeery-lak an’ still—
Oh, lone de way,... -
O Li’l’ lamb out in de col’,
De Mastah call you to de fol’,
O li’l’ lamb!
He hyeah you bleatin’ on de hill;
Come hyeah an’ keep yo’ mou’nin’ still,
O li’l’ lamb!De Mastah sen’ de Shepud fo’f;
He wandah souf, he wandah no’f,
O li’l’ lamb!
He wandah eas’, he wandah wes’;
De win’ a-wrenchin’... -
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 as it go
Singin’, “Sleep, my honey, tek yo’ res’ at las’.”Lay me nigh to whah hit meks a little pool,
An’ de watah stan’s so quiet lak an’ cool,
Whah de little birds in spring
Ust to come an... -
Where did you come from, baby dear?
Out of the everywhere into the here.Where did you get your eyes so blue?
Out of the sky as I came through.What makes the light in them sparkle and spin?
Some of the starry spikes left in.Where did you get that little tear?
I found it waiting when I got here.What makes your forehead...
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I.
a Baby’s feet, like sea-shells pink,
Might tempt, should Heaven see meet,
An angel’s lips to kiss, we think,
A baby’s feet.Like rose-hued sea-flowers toward the heat
They stretch and spread and wink
Their ten soft buds that part and meet.No flower-bells that expand and shrink
Gleam half so heavenly sweet... -
Sleep, little pigeon, and fold your wings,—
Little blue pigeon with velvet eyes;
Sleep to the singing of mother-bird swinging—
Swinging the nest where her little one lies.Away out yonder I see a star,—
Silvery star with a tinkling song;
To the soft dew falling I hear it calling—
Calling and tinkling the night along....
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Two little feet, so small that both may nestle
In one caressing hand,—
Two tender feet upon the untried border
Of life’s mysterious land.Dimpled, and soft, and pink as peach-tree blossoms,
...
In April’s fragrant days,
How can they walk among the briery tangles,
Edging the world’s rough ways? -
From “The Hanging of the Crane”
SEATED I see the two again,
But not alone; they entertain
A little angel unaware,
With face as round as is the moon;
A royal guest with flaxen hair,
Who, throned upon his lofty chair,
Drums on the table with his spoon,
Then drops it careless on the floor,
To grasp at things unseen before....