The Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar/A Misty Day

A MISTY DAY

Heart of my heart, the day is chill, The mist hangs low o'er the wooded hill, The soft white mist and the heavy cloud The sun and the face of heaven shroud. The birds are thick in the dripping trees, That drop their pearls to the beggar breeze; No songs are rife where songs are wont, Each singer crouches in his haunt.

Heart of my heart, the day is chill, Whene'er thy loving voice is still, The cloud and mist hide the sky from me, Whene'er thy face I cannot see. My thoughts fly back from the chill without, My mind in the storm drops doubt on doubt, No songs arise. Without thee, love, My soul sinks down like a frightened dove.