Vengeance Is Sweet

Paul Laurence Dunbar 1872 (Dayton) – 1906



When I was young I longed for Love,
And held his glory far above
All other earthly things. I cried:
'Come, Love, dear Love, with me abide;'
And with my subtlest art I wooed,
And eagerly the wight pursued.
But Love was gay and Love was shy,
He laughed at me and passed me by.

Well, I grew old and I grew gray,
When Wealth came wending down my way.
I took his golden hand with glee,
And comrades from that day were we.
Then Love came back with doleful face,
And prayed that I would give him place.
But, though his eyes with tears were dim,
I turned my back and laughed at him.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 17, 2023

35 sec read
107

Quick analysis:

Scheme AABBCCDD EEFFGGHH
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 567
Words 118
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 8, 8

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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