With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,
And mouth with myriad subtleties.

(Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906), U.S. poet. We Wear the Mask (l. 4-5). . . Norton Anthology of Poetry, The. Alexander W. Allison and others, eds. (3d ed., 1983) W. W. Norton & Company.)

We sing, but oh the clay is vile
Beneath our feet, and long the mile;
But let the world dream otherwise,
We wear the mask!

(Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906), U.S. poet. We Wear the Mask (l. 12-15). . . Norton Anthology of Poetry, The. Alexander W. Allison and others, eds. (3d ed., 1983) W. W. Norton & Company.)

Lay me down beneaf de willers in de grass,
Whah de branch'll go a-singin' as it pass.

(Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906), U.S. poet. A Death Song (l. 1-2). . . Poetry of the Negro, The, 1746-1970. Langston Hughes and Arna Bontemps, eds. (Rev. ed., 1970) Doubleday & Company.)

Fu' I t'ink de las' long res'
Gwine to soothe my sperrit bes'
If I's layin' 'mong de t'ings I's allus knowed.

(Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906), U.S. poet. A Death Song (l. 13-15). . . Poetry of the Negro, The, 1746-1970. Langston Hughes and Arna Bontemps, eds. (Rev. ed., 1970) Doubleday & Company.)

And catch the gleaming of a random light,
That tells me that the ship I seek is passing, passing.

(Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906), U.S. poet. Ships That Pass in the Night (l. 4-5). . . Anthology of American Poetry. George Gesner, ed. (1983) Avenel Books.)

An angel, robed in spotless white,
Bent down and kissed the sleeping Night.
Night woke to blush; the sprite was gone.
Men saw the blush and called it Dawn.

(Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906), U.S. poet. Dawn (l. 1-4). . . American Negro Poetry. Arna Bontemps, ed. (Rev. ed., 1974) Hill and Wang.)

Slight was the thing I bought,
Small was the debt I thought,
Poor was the loan at best?
God! but the interest!

(Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906), U.S. poet. The Debt (l. 9-12). . . American Negro Poetry. Arna Bontemps, ed. (Rev. ed., 1974) Hill and Wang.)

I know what the caged bird feels, alas!

(Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906), U.S. poet. Sympathy (l. l). . . Poetry of the Negro, The, 1746-1970. Langston Hughes and Arna Bontemps, eds. (Rev. ed., 1970) Doubleday & Company.)

This is the debt I pay
Just for one riotous day,

(Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906), U.S. poet. The Debt (l. 1-2). . . American Negro Poetry. Arna Bontemps, ed. (Rev. ed., 1974) Hill and Wang.)

We wear the mask that grins and lies,

(Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906), U.S. poet. We Wear the Mask (l. 1). . . Norton Anthology of Poetry, The. Alexander W. Allison and others, eds. (3d ed., 1983) W. W. Norton & Company.)