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

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