Henry Davis Middleton, "I Know a Paradise Apart" (1907)
Beau Brummels of the present day,
Sir Knights who don the sword and lance,
And bravely join the martial fray,
Ye swear by all your gods, they say,
Your castles have no counterpart:
Harken to this refrain I pray
I know a paradise apart!
Ye cads who prate with nonchalance
And ribald raptures oft display,
Dashing devotees of the dance
In which you madly whirl and sway,
Your pleasures are of yesterday,
Mere relics of a waning art.
For pleasures that defy dismay
I know a paradise apart.
Daughters whom beauty doth enhance,
Nimrods seeking their nimble prey,
Heroines of some sad romance,
The poor, the rich, in grand array,
Each wanders in his wonted way,
In blind pursuit of pleasure's mart,
To Eden's doomed decay
I know a paradise apart.
L'ENVOI.
Prince, where the brooklet winds it way,
Where Nature's balm revives the heart
In woodland green, in woodland grey--
I know a paradise apart.
Published in The Voice of the Negro, May 1907