Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE OLD STORY, by PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR Poet's Biography First Line: I stand beside the window here Last Line: Love's self is ever new. | ||||||||
I stand beside the window here And gaze at John and May, As hand in hand, unheeding aught, They wend their wooing way; And, oh, it brings me back the days, Ere age had changed my view, And every tale I heard or told I still believed was new. Go on, go on, my happy boy, And read your brief romance; Youth is the time for love and rhyme, So do not lose your chance. The joys that blessed my early days I would not keep from you; For soon you'll find the happy tale Won't always seem so new. We used to stroll, long years ago, About the same old way; You were a blushing maiden then, And I a lover gay. I told you how my heart was yours, And that I'd prove it true, 'Twas an old, old tale I told you, Kate, But, ah, we thought 'twas new. And as I stand and watch them here It all comes back to me; The shady walks, the loving talks, In days that used to be. There they go walking slow, absorbed, Just as we used to do; It's an old, old tale he's telling, Kate, But, ah, they think it new. But can it be that I am wrong, Have I grown crabbed with age? Let me turn back life's closing book, And view that older page. I'm partly wrong, I'm partly right, Love's story's old, 'tis true; But though 'twas born in earth's first morn, Love's self is ever new. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A BOY'S SUMMER SONG by PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR A CHRISTMAS FOLKSONG by PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR A CORN SONG by PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR A DEATH SONG by PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR A HYMN; AFTER READING 'LEAD, KINDLY LIGHT' by PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR A LITTLE CHRISTMAS BASKET by PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR A LOVE LETTER by PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR A LOVE SONG by PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR A MUSICAL by PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR A NEGRO LOVE SONG by PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR |
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