Poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar

Retort

  "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.
  Then my heart spoke out with a right bold air:
    "Thou art worse than a fool, O head!"

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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