Charles Bertram Johnson, "The Dreamer" (1905)
Scintillant worlds of light, his fine spun dreams
Are nebulæ of thought; no failure seems
To daunt him nor despair; but calm the face
He shows the world; if once he wept, no trace
Of tears appears; but still about him gleams
With loftiness of soul, a light that streams
Across our meaner paths and sordid place;
Like one who walks in mist or dusk is blurred,
He fares among mankind with lofty brow,
And half of what he dreams is true and wise,
Tho' indistinct and dim, like music heard
In sleep; but seldom does our faith allow
The wisdom of his clearer, subtler eyes.
Pubilshed in Colored American Magazine, April 1905