J. Taylor Stanley, "The Two Singers" (1928)
A Black child toddles down its path,
And each is born to sing.
The Black bird neither reaps nor spins,—
A carefree singer in the sun,
It sings a carefree song.
The Black child smiles to dam the tears
And pathos hidden in its face,
And wills to sing or die.
Published in Opportunity, December 1928