African American Poetry (1870-1928): A Digital Anthology

Paul Laurence Dunbar, "Compensation" (1905)

Because I had loved so deeply,
   Because I had loved so long,
 God in His great compassion
   Gave me the gift of song.

Because I have loved so vainly,
   And sung with such faltering breath,
The Master in infinite mercy
   Offers the boon of Death.


Published in Lyrics of Sunshine and Shadow (1905)
Also published in Voice of the Negro, March 1906

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