Section: «Poems»
Verse (ancient Greek ὁ στίχος — row, structure), a term in versification used in several meanings:
artistic speech organized by division into rhythmically commensurate segments; poetry in the narrow sense; in particular, it implies the properties of versification of a particular tradition ("antique verse", "Akhmatova's verse", etc.);
a line of poetic text organized according to a certain rhythmic pattern ("My uncle of the most honest rules").
Omar
Old Omar, jolly sceptic, it may beThat, after all, you found the magic keyTo life and all its mystery, and IMust own you have almost persuaded me.
© James Weldon Johnson
Sleep
O Sleep, thou kindest minister to man,Silent distiller of the balm of rest,How wonderful thy power, when naught else can,To soothe the torn and..
© James Weldon Johnson
The Ghost Of Deacon Brown
In a backwoods townLived Deacon Brown,And he was a miser old;He would trust no bank,So he dug, and sankIn the ground a box of gold,Down deep in the..
© James Weldon Johnson
Sonnet
My heart be brave, and do not falter so,Nor utter more that deep, despairing wail.Thy way is very dark and drear I know,But do not let thy strength..
© James Weldon Johnson
Life
Out of the infinite sea of eternityTo climb, and for an instant standUpon an island speck of time.From the impassible peace of the darknessTo wake..
© James Weldon Johnson
The Seasons
W'en de leaves begin to fall,An' de fros' is on de ground,An' de 'simmons is a-ripenin' on de tree;W'en I heah de dinner call,An' de chillen gadder..
© James Weldon Johnson
The Glory Of The Day Was In Her Face
The glory of the day was in her face,The beauty of the night was in her eyes.And over all her loveliness, the graceOf Morning blushing in the early..
© James Weldon Johnson
The Young Warrior
Mother, shed no mournful tears,But gird me on my sword;And give no utterance to thy fears,But bless me with thy word.The lines are drawn! The fight..
© James Weldon Johnson
The Suicide
For fifty years,Cruel, insatiable Old World.You have punched me over the heartTill you made me cough blood.The few paltry things I gatheredYou..
© James Weldon Johnson
The Color Sergeant
(On an Incident at the Battle of San Juan Hill)Under a burning tropic sun,With comrades around him lying,A trooper of the sable TenthLay wounded..
© James Weldon Johnson
You's Sweet To Yo' Mammy De Same
(Lullaby)Shet yo' eyes, ma little pickaninny, go to sleepMammy's watchin' by you all de w'ile;Daddy is a-wukin' down in de cott'n fiel',Wukin' fu'..
© James Weldon Johnson
Sence You Went Away
Seems lak to me de stars don't shine so bright,Seems lak to me de sun done loss his light,Seems lak to me der's nothin' goin' right,Sence you went..
© James Weldon Johnson
O Black And Unknown Bards
O black and unknown bards of long ago,How came your lips to touch the sacred fire?How, in your darkness, did you come to knowThe power and beauty of..
© James Weldon Johnson
Morning, Noon And Night
When morning shows her first faint flush,I think of the tender blushThat crept so gently to your cheekWhen first my love I dared to speak;How, in..
© James Weldon Johnson
The Gift To Sing
Sometimes the mist overhangs my path,And blackening clouds about me cling;But, oh, I have a magic wayTo turn the gloom to cheerful day —I softly..
© James Weldon Johnson
Mother Night
Eternities before the first-born day,Or ere the first sun fledged his wings of flame,Calm Night, the everlasting and the same,A brooding mother over..
© James Weldon Johnson
The Word Of An Engineer
'She's built of steelFrom deck to keel,And bolted strong and tight;In scorn she'll sailThe fiercest gale,And pierce the darkest night.'The builder's..
© James Weldon Johnson
To America
How would you have us, as we are?Or sinking 'neath the load we bear?Our eyes fixed forward on a star?Or gazing empty at despair?Rising or falling?..
© James Weldon Johnson
Prayer At Sunrise
O mighty, powerful, dark-dispelling sun,Now thou art risen, and thy day begun.How shrink the shrouding mists before thy face,As up thou spring'st to..
© James Weldon Johnson
The Reward
No greater earthly boon than this I crave,That those who some day gather 'round my grave,In place of tears, may whisper of me then,'He sang a song..
© James Weldon Johnson
The Black Mammy
O whitened head entwined in turban gay,O kind black face, O crude, but tender hand,O foster-mother in whose arms there layThe race whose sons are..
© James Weldon Johnson
Lazy
Some men enjoy the constant strifeOf days with work and worry rife,But that is not my dream of life:I think such men are crazy.For me, a life with..
© James Weldon Johnson
The Prodigal Son
Young man—Young man—Your arm’s too short to box with God.But Jesus spake in a parable, and he said:A certain man had two sons.Jesus didn’t give this..
© James Weldon Johnson
The Awakening
I dreamed that I was a roseThat grew beside a lonely way,Close by a path none ever chose,And there I lingered day by day.Beneath the sunshine and the..
© James Weldon Johnson
The White Witch
O, brothers mine, take care! Take care!The great white witch rides out to-night,Trust not your prowess nor your strength;Your only safety lies in..
© James Weldon Johnson