Beyond the Years by Paul Laurence Dunbar

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend April 26, 2014   Beyond the Years   Paul Laurence Dunbar

I Beyond the years the answer lies, Beyond where brood the grieving skies     And Night drops tears. Where Faith rod-chastened smiles to rise     And doff its fears, And carping Sorrow pines and dies—     Beyond the years. II Beyond the years the prayer for rest Shall beat no more within the breast;     The darkness clears, And Morn perched on the mountain’s crest     Her form uprears— The day that is to come is best,     Beyond the years. III Beyond the years the soul shall find That endless peace for which it pined,     For light appears, And to the eyes that still were blind     With blood and tears, Their sight shall come all unconfined     Beyond the years.              This poem is in the public domain. About This Poem   “Beyond the Years” by Paul Laurence Dunbar appeared in the posthumous collection The Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar (Dodd, Mead, and Company, 1913).   Paul Laurence Dunbar, one of the first African American poets to gain national recognition, was born in Dayton, Ohio, in 1872. He published ten collections of poetry, and many short stories and novels, before his death in 1906. Poetry by Dunbar   The Collected Poetry of Paul Laurence Dunbar (University of Virginia Press, 1993) "Love Story in Black and White" by Toi Derricotte "Age and Death" by Emma Lazarus "To Chloe: Who for his sake wished herself younger" by William Cartwright Poem-a-Day   Launched during National Poetry Month in 2006, Poem-a-Day features new and previously unpublished poems by contemporary poets on weekdays and classic poems on weekends. Thanks for being a part of the Academy of American Poets community. To learn about other programs, including National Poetry Month, Poem in Your Pocket Day, the annual Poets Forum, and more, visit poets.org   You are receiving this e-mail because you elected to subscribe to our mailing list. If you would like to unsubscribe, please click here.   © Academy of American Poets 75 Maiden Lane, Suite 901, New York, NY 10038