Living
Reponse
Living
When Phyllis sighs and from her eyes
The light dies out; my soul replies
With misery of deep-drawn breath,
E'en as it were at war with death.
When Phyllis smiles, her glance beguiles
My heart through love-lit woodland aisles,
And through the silence high and clear,
A wooing warbler's song I hear.
But if she frown, despair comes down,
I put me on my sack-cloth gown;
So frown not, Phyllis, lest I die,
But look on me with smile or sigh.
Cite this poem
MLA
Dunbar, Paul Laurence. “Reponse.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/paul-laurence-dunbar/236/.
Chicago
Dunbar, Paul Laurence. “Reponse.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/paul-laurence-dunbar/236/.
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