The Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar
Index of First Line of Poems

(Below is a list of the first lines of the poems included in the book The Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar. The number beside the line of the poem is the original page number the poem appeared on.  This will allow researchers to reference the page number for possible footnotes or for future reference. - Editor Dayton History Books Online)

INDEX OF FIRST LINES

 

A bee that was searching for sweets one day 19

A blue-bell springs upon the ledge 26

A cloud fell down from the heavens 288

A crust of bread and a corner to sleep in 8

A hush is over all the teeming lists 6

A knock is at her door, but she is weak 73

A life was mine full of the close concern 103

A lilt and a swing 226

A little bird with plumage brown 78

A little dreaming by the way 114

A lover whom duty called over the wave 29

A maiden wept and, as a comforter 11

A man of low degree was sore oppressed 111

A song for the unsung heroes who rose in the country's need 196

A song is but a little thing 4

A youth went farming up and down 55

Across the hills and down the narrow ways 120

Adown the west a golden glow 263

Ah, Douglass, we have fall'n on evil days 208

Ah, I have changed, I do not know 270

Ah, love, my love is like a cry in the night 222

Ah me, it is cold and chill 186

Ah, Nora, my Nora, the light fades away 62

Ah, yes, 't is sweet still to remember 31

Ah, yes, the chapter ends to-day 101

Ain't it nice to have a mammy 239

Ain't nobody tol' you not a wo'd a-tall 181

Air a-gittin' cool an' coolah 77

All de night long twell de moon goes down 253

All hot and grimy from the road 224

Along by the river of ruin 265

An angel robed in spotless white 65

An old man planted and dug and tended 60

An old, worn harp that had been played 17

As a quiet little seedling 12

As in some dim baronial hall restrained 94

As lone I sat one summer's day 122

As some rapt gazer on the lowly earth 106

Ashes to ashes, dust unto dust 103

At the golden gate of song 179

Aye, lay him in his grave, the old dead year! 105

Back to the breast of thy mother 113

Because I had loved so deeply 256

Because you love me I have much achieved 238

Bedtime's come fu' little boys 144

Belated wanderer of the ways of spring 179

Beyond the years the answer lies 41

Bird of my lady's bower 19

Bones a-gittin' achy 153

Break me my bounds, and let me fly 285

Breezes blowin' middlin' brisk 78

Bring me the livery of no other man 92

By Mystic's banks I held my dream 204

By rugged ways and thro' the night 215

By the pool that I see in my dreams, dear love 198

By the stream I dream in calm delight, and watch as in a glass 50

Caught Susanner whistlin'; well 149

Come away to dreamin' town 254

Come, drink a stirrup cup with me 125

Come, essay a sprightly measure 97

Come on walkin' wid me, Lucy; 't ain't no time to mope erroun' 164

Come to the pane, draw the curtain apart 120

Come when the nights are bright with stars 61

Cool is the wind, for the summer is waning 163

Cover him over with daisies white 258

Daih's a moughty soothin' feelin' 187

Darling, my darling, my heart is on the wing 202

Days git wa'm an' wa'mah 239

De axes has been ringin' in de woods de blessid day 143

De breeze is blowin' 'cross de bay 145

De 'cession's stahted on de gospel way 194

De da'kest hour, dey allus say 165

De dog go howlin' 'long de road 247

De night creep down erlong de lan' 166

De ol' time's gone, de new time's hyeah 192

De sun hit shine an' de win' hit blow 256

De times is mighty stirrin' 'mong de people up ouah way 158

De trees is bendin' in de sto'm 193

De way t'ings come, hit seems to me 225

De win' is blowin' wahmah 236

De win' is hollahin' "Daih you" to de shuttahs an' de fiah 174

Dear critic, who my lightness so deplores 189

Dear heart, good-night! 23

Dear Miss Lucy: I been t'inkin' dat I'd write you long fo' dis 151

Deep in my heart that aches with the repression 25

Dey been speakin' at de cou't-house 205

Dey had a gread big pahty down to Tom's de othah night 83

Dey is snow upon the meddahs 168

Dey is times in life when Nature 57

Dey was oncet a awful quoil 'twixt de skillet an' de pot 268

Dey was talkin' in de cabin, dey was talkin' in de hall 182

Dey's a so't o' threatenin' feelin' in de blowin' of de breeze 171

Dinah stan' befo' de glass 206

Dis is gospel weathah sho'— 26

Do' a-stan'in' on a jar, fiah a-shinin' thoo 196

Dolly sits a-quilting by her mother, stitch by stitch 240

Done are the toils and the wearisome marches 22

Dream days of fond delight and hours 287

Dream on, for dreams are sweet 100

Driftwood gathered here and there 277

Duck come switchin' 'cross de lot 275

Ef dey's anyt'ing dat riles me 141

Ef you's only got de powah fe' to blow a little whistle 250

Eight of 'em hyeah all tol' an' yet 243

Emblem of blasted hope and lost desire 115

Ere sleep comes down to soothe the weary eyes 3

Folks ain't got no right to censuah othah folks about dey habits 5

Folks is talkin' 'bout de money, 'bout de silvah an' de gold 135

Four hundred years ago a tangled waste 47

Fu' de peace o' my eachin' heels, set down 222

God has his plans, and what if we 81

"Good-bye," I said to my conscience 31

Goo'-by, Jinks, I got to hump 64

Good hunting!—aye, good hunting 237

Good-night, my love, for I have dreamed of thee 93

Granny's gone a-visitin' 242

Grass commence a-comin' 176

Gray are the pages of record 205

Gray is the palace where she dwells 180

G'way an' quit dat noise, Miss Lucy 82

Hain't you see my Mandy Lou 173

He had his dream, and all through life 61

He loved her, and through many years 129

He sang of life serenely sweet 191

He scribbles some in prose and verse 49

Heart of my heart, the day is chill 207

Heart of the Southland, heed me pleading now 216

Heel and toe, heel and toe 170

Hello, ole man, you're a-gittin' gray 80

Hit's been drizzlin' an' been sprinklin' 180

Home agin, an' home to stay 259

How shall I woo thee to win thee, mine own? 289

How sweet the music sounded 284

How's a man to write a sonnet, can you tell 114

Hurt was the nation with a mighty wound 184

Hyeah come Cæsar Higgins 145

Hyeah dat singin' in de medders 208

"I am but clay," the sinner plead 114

I am no priest of crooks nor creeds 38

I am the mother of sorrows 89

I be'n down in ole Kentucky 42

I been t'inkin' 'bout de preachah; whut he said de othah night 212

I did not know that life could be so sweet 252

I done got 'uligion, honey, an' I's happy ez a king 146

I don't believe in 'ristercrats 140

I grew a rose once more to please mine eyes 13

I grew a rose within a garden fair 12

I had not known before 240

I has hyeahd o' people dancin' an' I's hyeahd o' people singin' 156

I have no fancy for that ancient cant 94

I have seen full many a sight 188

I held my heart so far from harm 255

I found you and I lost you 251

I know a man 235

I know my love is true 58

I know what the caged bird feels, alas! 102

I never shall furgit that night when father hitched up Dobbin 42

I sit upon the old sea wall 115

I stand above the city's rush and din 275

I stood by the shore at the death of day 69

I think that though the clouds be dark 53

I was not; now I am—a few days hence 17

If Death should claim me for her own to-day 210

If life were but a dream, my Love 75

If the muse were mine to tempt it 50

If thro' the sea of night which here surrounds me 256

If 'twere fair to suppose 258

If you could sit with me beside the sea to-day 21

In a small and lonely cabin out of noisy traffic's way 124

In de dead of night I sometimes 260

In Life's Red Sea with faith I plant my feet 110

In the east the morning comes 199

In the heavy earth the miner 107

In the forenoon's restful quiet 95

In the silence of my heart 110

In this sombre garden close 209

In the tents of Akbar 223

In this old garden, fair, I walk to-day 111

I's a-gittin' weary of de way dat people do 244

I's boun' to see my gal to-night 142

I's feelin' kin' o' lonesome in my little room to-night 202

It is as if a silver chord 216

It may be misery not to sing at all 225

It was Chrismus Eve, I mind hit fu' a mighty gloomy day 137

It's all a farce,—these tales they tell 56

It's hot to-day. The bees is buzzin' 279

It's moughty tiahsome layin' 'roun' 195

I've a humble little motto 46

I've always been a faithful man 267

I've been list'nin' to them lawyers 22

I've been watchin' of 'em, parson 39

I've journeyed 'roun' consid'able, a-seein' men an' things 147

Jes' lak toddy wahms you thoo' 148

Just whistle a bit, if the day be dark 98

Key and bar, key and bar 201

Kiss me, Miami, thou most constant one! 277

Know you, winds that blow your course 40

Lay me down beneaf de willers in de grass 142

Lead gently, Lord, and slow 98

Let me close the eyes of my soul 261

Let those who will stride on their barren roads 214

'Lias! 'Lias! Bless de Lawd! 190

Like sea-washed sand upon the shore 202

Like the blush upon the rose 282

Little brown baby wif spa'klin' eyes 134

Little brown face full of smiles 267

Little lady at de do' 177

Long had I grieved at what I deemed abuse 106

Long since, in sore distress, I heard one pray 123

Long time ago, we too set out 119

Long years ago, within a distant clime 104

Love hath the wings of the butterfly 117

Love is the light of the world, my dear 231

Love me. I care not what the circling years 89

Love used to carry a bow, you know 258

Lucy done gone back on me 136

Mammy's in de kitchen, an' de do' is shet 241

Mastah drink his ol' Made'a 213

Men may sing of their Havanas, elevating to the stars 129

Mother's gone a-visitin' to spend a month er two 79

My cot was down by a cypress grove 8

My heart to thy heart 13

My lady love lives far away 288

My muvver's ist the nicest one 247

My neighbor lives on the hill 192

My soul, lost in the music's mist 76

Night, dim night, and it rains, my love, it rains 227

Night is for sorrow and dawn is for joy 90

Not o'er thy dust let there be spent 18

No matter what you call it 287

Not they who soar, but they who plod 18

Not to the midnight of the gloomy past 214

O li'l' lamb out in de col' 133

O Lord, the hard-won miles 11

O Mother Race! to thee I bring 15

October is the treasurer of the year 63

Oh, de clouds is mighty heavy 169

Oh, de grubbin'-hoe's a-rustin' in de co'nah 67

Oh, de weathah it is balmy an' de breeze is sighin' low 207

Oh, dere's lots o' keer an' trouble 20

Oh for the breath of the briny deep 92

Oh, I am hurt to death, my Love 72

Oh, I des received a letter f'om de sweetest little gal 266

Oh, I haven't got long to live, for we all 48

Oh, summer has clothed the earth 91

Oh the breeze is blowin' balmy 262

Oh, the day has set me dreaming 107

Oh, the little bird is rocking in the cradle of the wind 245

Oh, the poets may sing of their Lady Irenes 26

Oh to have you in May 166

Oh, what shall I do? I am wholly upset 131

Oh, who is the Lord of the land of life 268

Oh, who would be sad tho' the sky be a-graying 236

Oh, wind of the spring-time, oh, free wind of May 221

On a summer's day as I sat by a stream 248

On the wide veranda white 59

Once Love grew bold and arrogant of air 102

One night in my room, still and beamless 109

Our good knight, Ted, girds his broadsword on 108

Out in de night a sad bird moans 194

Out in the sky the great dark clouds are massing 64

Out of my heart, one day, I wrote a song 117

Out of my heart, one treach'rous winter's day 102

Out of the sunshine and out of the heat 167

Outside the rain upon the street 253

Over the hills and the valleys of dreaming 90

Phyllis, ah, Phyllis, my life is a gray day 74

Place this bunch of mignonette 66

Poor withered rose, she gave it me 286

Pray, what can dreams avail 104

Pray why are you so bare, so bare 219

Prometheus stole from Heaven the sacred fire 117

Ring out, ye bells! 278

Round the wide earth, from the red field your valour has won 112

Say a mass for my soul's repose, my brother 211

Search thou my heart 116

See dis pictyah in my han' 144

Seems lak folks is mighty curus 139

Seen my lady home las' night 49

Seen you down at chu'ch las' night 60

Shadder in de valley 226

She gave a rose 103

She sang, and I listened the whole song thro' 121

She told the story, and the whole world wept 119

She told her beads with downcast eyes 106

She wrapped her soul in a lace of lies 240

Silence, and whirling worlds afar 263

Silently without my window 54

Since I left the city's heat 263

Slow de night's a-fallin' 186

Slow moves the pageant of a climbing race 211

So we, who 'we supped the selfsame cup 40

Some folks t'inks hit's right an' p'opah 201

Standin' at de winder 253

Step me now a bridal measure 248

Step wid de banjo an' glide wid de fiddle 269

Storm and strife and stress 227

Summah night an' sighin' breeze 132

Summah's nice, wif sun a-shinin' 132

Summer is de lovin' time 262

Sunshine on de medders 168

Sweetest of the flowers a-blooming 237

Swing yo' lady roun' an' roun' 200

Tek a cool night, good an' cleah 150

Tell your love where the roses blow 238

Temples he built, and palaces of air 100

The air is dark, the sky is gray 65

The change has come, and Helen sleeps 58

The cloud looked in at the window 72

The draft of love was cool and sweet 252

The gray dawn on the mountain top 248

The gray of the sea, and the gray of the sky 93

The lake's dark breast 8

The lark is silent in his nest 61

The little bird sits in the nest and sings 67

The Midnight wooed the Morning-Star 99

The mist has left the greening plain 252

The moon begins her stately ride 276

The moon has left the sky, love 46

The night is dewy as a maiden's mouth 64

The November sun invites me 282

The poor man went to the rich man's doors 106

The rain streams down like harpstrings from the sky 270

The river sleeps beneath the sky 9

The sand-man he's a jolly old fellow 235

The sky of brightest gray seems dark 59

The smell of the sea in my nostrils 91

The snow lies deep upon the ground 105

The sun has slipped his tether 100

The sun hath shed its kindly light 281

The sun is low 285

The trees bend down along the stream 249

The wind is out in its rage to-night 244

The wind told the little leaves to hurry 258

The word is writ that he who runs may read 209

The world is a snob, and the man who wins 118

The young queen Nature, ever sweet and fair 52

Ther' ain't no use in all this strife 49

There are no beaten paths to Glory's height 21

There is a heaven, for ever, day by day 106

There's a fabulous story 246

There's a memory keeps a-runnin' 10

These are the days of elfs and fays 251

They please me not—these solemn songs 125

This is the debt I pay 213

This is to-day, a golden summer's day 223

This poem must be done to-day 122

Thou arrant robber, Death! 284

"Thou art a fool," said my head to my heart 5

Thou art my lute, by thee I sing 109

Thou art the soul of a summer's day 271

Though the winds be dank 71

Thy tones are silver melted into sound 116

Tim Murphy's gon' walkin' wid Maggie O'Neill 261

'Tis an old deserted homestead 283

'Tis better to set here beside the sea 186

'Tis fine to play 235

To me, like hauntings of a vagrant breath 97

Treat me nice, Miss Mandy Jane 167

'Twas the apple that in Eden 251

'Twas three an' thirty year ago 27

'Twixt a smile and a tear 241

Two little boots all rough an' wo' 163

Uncle John, he makes me tired 73

Underneath the autumn sky 256

Villain shows his indiscretion 42

Want to trade me, do you, mistah? Oh, well, now, I reckon not 189

We is gathahed hyeah, my brothahs 13

We wear the mask that grins and lies 71

W'en daih's chillun in de house 199

W'en de clouds is hangin' heavy in de sky 176

W'en de colo'ed ban' comes ma'chin' down de street 178

W'en de evenin' shadders 185

W'en de snow's a-fallin' 188

W'en I git up in de mo'nin' an' de clouds is big an' black 172

W'en us fellers stomp around, makin' lots o' noise 264

W'en you full o' worry 250

What are the things that make life bright? 238

What dreams we have and how they fly 166

What if the wind do howl without 75

What says the wind to the waving trees? 68

What's the use o' folks a-frownin' 249

When all is done, and my last word is said 113

When August days are hot an' dry 130

When de fiddle gits to singin' out a ol' Vahginny reel 138

When first of wise old Johnson taught 129

When I come in f'm de co'n-fiel' aftah wo'kin' ha'd all day 155

When I was young I longed for Love 98

When labor is light and the morning is fair 70

When Phyllis sighs and from her eyes 175

When storms arise 66

When summer time has come, and all 280

When the bees are humming in the honeysuckle vine 215

When the corn's all cut and the bright stalks shine 16

When to sweet music my lady is dancing 175

When winter covering all the ground 275

When you and I were young, the days 24

Who dat knockin' at de do'? 184

Who say my hea't ain't true to you? 133

Whose little lady is you, chile 198

Whut dat you whisperin' keepin' f'om me? 136

Whut time 'd dat clock strike? 254

Whut you say, dah? huh, uh! chile 153

Why fades a dream? 77

Why was it that the thunder voice of Fate 221

Will I have some mo' dat pie? 203

Win' a-blowin' gentle so de san' lay low 191

Wintah, summah, snow er shine 178

Wintah time hit comin' 241

With sombre mien, the evening gray 123

With what thou gavest me, O Master 276

Within a London garret high 96

Woman's sho' a cur'ous critter, an' dey ain't no doubtin' dat 170

Yes, my ha't 's ez ha'd ez stone 62

Yesterday I held your hand 257

You ask why I am sad to-day 220

You bid me hold my peace 286

You kin talk about yer anthems 53

You'll be wonderin' whut's de reason 131

Your presence like a benison to me 266

Your spoken words are roses fine and sweet 270

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