By The Stream
By the Stream
by Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906)
by Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906)
"By the stream I dream in calm delight, and
watch as in a glass,
How the clouds like crowds of snowy-hued
and white-robed maidens pass,
And the water into ripples breaks and
sparkles as it spreads,
Like a host of armored knights with silver
helmets on their heads.
And I deem the stream an emblem fit of
human life may go,
For I find a mind may sparkle much and yet
but shallows show,
And a soul may glow with myriad lights and
wondrous mysteries,
When it only lies a dormant thing and
mirrors what it sees."
watch as in a glass,
How the clouds like crowds of snowy-hued
and white-robed maidens pass,
And the water into ripples breaks and
sparkles as it spreads,
Like a host of armored knights with silver
helmets on their heads.
And I deem the stream an emblem fit of
human life may go,
For I find a mind may sparkle much and yet
but shallows show,
And a soul may glow with myriad lights and
wondrous mysteries,
When it only lies a dormant thing and
mirrors what it sees."
Paul Laurence Dunbar’s poem By the Stream is a reflective poem that forces the reader to consider the authenticity of those around us. Dunbar explains through the voice of a male persona that our first judgment of others could easily, and often is, completely mistaken. Through the use of imagery, similes, and a beautiful rhyme scheme, Dunbar has created a short but strong piece of writing which reminds us not to take everyone at face value.
Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1908) is an American writer who has authored many novels, short stories, and poems. Among these are The Uncalled, Folks from Dixie, The Love of Landry, Majors and Minors, the Oak in Ivy, Lyrics of Lowly Life, The Fanatics, the Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar, Little Brown baby, Poems of Cabin and Field, and The Heart of the Happy Hallow. It is in his book Lyrics of Lowly Life, that by the stream can be found.
Paul Laurence Dunbar is one of the most renowned African American poets to this date. He was one of the first African-American poets to have his poetry acknowledged worldwide. His literary talent was exposed early as he became the class president despite being the only African American in his class and managed to have several poems published before he even graduated. Though he had an early and rather unfortunate death for a man of his talent, his work is considered one of the best African American poetry collections until this day.
Famine of the Word
“Yes, days are coming, says the Lord GOD,
when I will send famine upon the land:
Not a famine of bread, or thirst for water,
but for hearing the word of the LORD.
Then shall they wander from sea to sea
and rove from the north to the east
in search of the word of the LORD,
but they shall not find it.”
- Amos 8: 11-12
when I will send famine upon the land:
Not a famine of bread, or thirst for water,
but for hearing the word of the LORD.
Then shall they wander from sea to sea
and rove from the north to the east
in search of the word of the LORD,
but they shall not find it.”
- Amos 8: 11-12
