To Dan

Paul Laurence Dunbar 1872 (Dayton) – 1906



STEP me now a bridal measure,
Work give way to love and leisure,
Hearts be free and hearts be gay --
Doctor Dan doth wed to-day.

Diagnosis, cease your squalling --
Check that scalpel's senseless bawling,
Put that ugly knife away --
Doctor Dan doth wed to-day.

'Tis no time for things unsightly,
Life's the day and life goes lightly;
Science lays aside her sway--
Love rules Dr. Dan to-day.

Gather, gentlemen and ladies,
For the nuptial feast now made is,
Swing your garlands, chant your lay
For the pair who wed to-day.

Wish them happy days and many,
Troubles few and griefs not any,
Lift your brimming cups and say
God bless them who wed to-day.

Then a cup to Cupid daring,
Who for conquest ever faring,
With his arrows dares assail
E'en a doctor's coat of mail.

So with blithe and happy hymning
And with harmless goblets brimming,
Dance a step -- musicians play --
Doctor Dan doth wed to-day.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

50 sec read
90

Quick analysis:

Scheme aabB bbbB ccbb xxbb ccbb dxee bdbB
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 896
Words 164
Stanzas 7
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4

Paul Laurence Dunbar

Paul Laurence Dunbar was a seminal American poet of the late 19th and early 20th centuries Dunbar gained national recognition for his 1896 Lyrics of a Lowly Life one poem in the collection being Ode to Ethiopia more…

All Paul Laurence Dunbar poems | Paul Laurence Dunbar Books

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