The Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar · Paul Laurence Dunbar

Dreams

228 of 424 · 1 min of reading

What dreams we have and how they fly

Like rosy clouds across the sky;

Of wealth, of fame, of sure success,

Of love that comes to cheer and bless;

And how they wither, how they fade,

The waning wealth, the jilting jade--

The fame that for a moment gleams,

Then flies forever,--dreams, ah--dreams!

O burning doubt and long regret,

O tears with which our eyes are wet,

Heart-throbs, heart-aches, the glut of pain,

The somber cloud, the bitter rain,

You were not of those dreams--ah! well,

Your full fruition who can tell?

Wealth, fame, and love, ah! love that beams

Upon our souls, all dreams--ah! dreams.

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End of part 228 of 424

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