Countee Cullen, "Sonnet to Her" (1927)
HOW have I found this favor in her sight,
And will the flame burn steady to the end,
Until we round that dark and dangerous bend
Where.there is such a crying need for light;
Or will it flare up now so clear and bright,
Sunlike its wealth so far and wide distend
That nothing will remain for us to spend
When toll is taken by the dismal night?
Why shculd I harrow up my mind like this,
To tarnish with a doubt each golden kiss?
This is the Day most certainly! This bars
Us now from any hidden darkness spun;
Sufficient to the day let be the sun,
And to the night the spear-points of the stars.
Published in The Crisis, March 1927