African American Poetry: A Digital Anthology

Wendell Phillips Gladden, Jr. "May-Queen" (1920)

MY lady brown
Now wears a crown
Of pink and red, red roses;
Black curls flow down
On gauzy gown,
While she in smiles reposes.
Green shades and blue,
And every hue
Are found in scented bowers;
Where maidens prance
And skip and dance
Before her throne of flowers.
Each maiden trips
With tinted strips
From May-pole fast unfolding;
And so the scene
The dusky queen
Sits quietly beholding.
And still they play
Until the day
In joy serenely closes;
My lady brown
Has worn a crown
Of pink and red, red roses.


Published in The Brownies' Book, May 1920

This page has tags: