African American Poetry: A Digital Anthology

George Leonard Allen, "Portrait" (1927)

Portrait
By George LEONARD ALLEN

Her eyes?      Dark pools of deepest shade
     Like sylvan lakes that lie
In some sequestered forest glade
     Beneath a starry sky.

Her cheeks?     The ripened chestnut’s hue,
     Rich Autumn's sun-kissed brown!
Caressed by sunbeams dancing through
     Red leaves that flutter down.

Her form?     A slender pine that sways
     Before the murmuring breeze
In summer, when the southwind plays
     Soft music through the trees.

Herself?     A laughing joyous sprite
     Who smiles from dawn till dark,
As lovely as a summer night
     And carefree as a lark.


Published in Opportunity, January 1927

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