A Billet Doux

George Moses Horton 1779 (North Carolina) – 1883



My brightest hopes are mix'd with tears,
Like hues of light and gloom;
As when mid sun-shine rain appears,
Love rises with a thousand fears,

To pine and still to bloom.
When I have told my last fond tale
In lines of song to thee,
And for departure spread my sail,
Say, lovely princess, wilt thou fail
To drop a tear for me?

O, princess, should my votive strain
Salute thy ear no more,
Like one deserted on the main,
I still shall gaze, alas! but vain,
On wedlock's flow'ry shore.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

28 sec read
96

Quick analysis:

Scheme XABB ACDCCD EFEEF
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 487
Words 93
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 4, 6, 5

George Moses Horton

George Moses Horton was an African-American poet and the first African American poet to be published in the Southern United States. His book was published in 1828 while he was still a slave; he remained a slave until he was emancipated late in the Civil War. more…

All George Moses Horton poems | George Moses Horton Books

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