Poem by James Weldon Johnson

The Awakening

I dreamed that I was a rose
That grew beside a lonely way,
Close by a path none ever chose,
And there I lingered day by day.
Beneath the sunshine and the show'r
I grew and waited there apart,
Gathering perfume hour by hour,
And storing it within my heart,
  Yet, never knew,
Just why I waited there and grew.

I dreamed that you were a bee
That one day gaily flew along,
You came across the hedge to me,
And sang a soft, love-burdened song.
You brushed my petals with a kiss,
I woke to gladness with a start,
And yielded up to you in bliss
The treasured fragrance of my heart;
  And then I knew
That I had waited there for you.

1. Brer Rabbit, You's de Cutes' of 'Em All
2. Sence You Went Away
3. Answer to Prayer
4. A Plantation Bacchanal
5. An Explanation

Dora Sigerson Shorter The Awakening ("Once she woke to fairyland")

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