Poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar

The Poet and His Song

  A song is but a little thing,
  And yet what joy it is to sing!
  In hours of toil it gives me zest,
  And when at eve I long for rest;
  When cows come home along the bars,
    And in the fold I hear the bell,
  As Night, the shepherd, herds his stars,
    I sing my song, and all is well.

  There are no ears to hear my lays,
  No lips to lift a word of praise;
  But still, with faith unfaltering,
  I live and laugh and love and sing.
  What matters yon unheeding throng?
    They cannot feel my spirit's spell,
  Since life is sweet and love is long,
    I sing my song, and all is well.

  My days are never days of ease;
  I till my ground and prune my trees.
  When ripened gold is all the plain,
  I put my sickle to the grain.
  I labor hard, and toil and sweat,
    While others dream within the dell;
  But even while my brow is wet,
    I sing my song, and all is well.

  Sometimes the sun, unkindly hot,
  My garden makes a desert spot;
  Sometimes a blight upon the tree
  Takes all my fruit away from me;
  And then with throes of bitter pain
    Rebellious passions rise and swell;
  But--life is more than fruit or grain,
    And so I sing, and all is well.

1. Ere Sleep Comes down to Soothe the Weary Eyes
2. The Lawyers' Ways
3. Song (My heart to thy heart)
4. Not They Who Soar
5. An Ante-Bellum Sermon

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