Paul Laurence Dunbar, "Compensation" (1905)
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