Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE GIFT TO SING, by JAMES WELDON JOHNSON


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE GIFT TO SING, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: Sometimes the mist overhangs my path
Last Line: And I can sing.
Subject(s): Forgetfulness; Love; Singing & Singers; Songs


Sometimes the mist overhangs my path,
And blackening clouds about me cling;
But, oh, I have a magic way
To turn the gloom to cheerful day —
I softly sing.

And if the way grows darker still,
Shadowed by Sorrow's somber wing,
With glad defiance in my throat,
I pierce the darkness with a note,
And sing, and sing.

I brood not over the broken past,
Nor dread whatever time may bring;
No nights are dark, no days are long,
While in my heart there swells a song,
And I can sing.





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