Lyrics of Love and Laughter
Roses
by Paul Laurence Dunbar
"Oh, wind of the spring–time, oh, free wind of May,"
"Oh, wind of the spring–time, oh, free wind of May,"
With sombre mien, the Evening gray
"Come away to dreamin’ town,"
"Ain’t nobody nevah tol’ you not a wo’d a–tall,"
"My neighbor lives on the hill,"
A merchant’s son spends his inheritance frivolously. He is lucky enough to get a present from a friend - a flying trunk. He uses the trunk to meet a princess, and to try to impress her. He tells the sultan and sultana a story, which pleases them. He puts on a fireworks display to impress all the people, but doesn’t consider the consequences.
A celebration of Florida's tropic climate.
"Out in de night a sad bird moans,"
"Darling, my darling, my heart is on the wing,"
Nature and the movement of clouds at dusk ignite the author's imagination.
"Heel and toe, heel and toe,"
A child creates a world from imagination.
"If the muse were mine to tempt it"
Music to hear, why hear’st thou music sadly?
Where art thou Muse that thou forget’st so long
Little Bear suggests that the three bears go out for a morning walk before breakfast. While walking, they find a campsite and try the food left in the pot. They discover a new love for prunes and sing a cheerful song about it.
"“Sunshine on de medders,"
Within a London garret high,
The author's conclusion.
"De ‘cession’s stahted on de gospel way,"
The method by which the story is to be told is introduced, along with the first narrator.
"Dream days of fond delight and hours"
A poem about the speaker as a piper who writes his songs down so that every child may enjoy them.
"My cot was down by a cypress grove,"
A message to the readers about the history of the story.