I am the mother of sorrows, I am the ender of grief; I am the bud and the blossom, I am the late—falling leaf. I am thy priest and thy poet,

Mastah drink his ol’ Made’a, Missy drink huh sherry wine, Ovahseah lak his whiskey, But dat othah drink is mine, Des’ 'lasses an’ watah, 'lasses an…

Oh, wind of the spring—time, oh, f… When blossoms and bird—song are ri… Oh, joy for the season, and joy fo… That gave me the roses of life, of… That gave me the roses of life.

Ain’t nobody nevah tol’ you not a… 'Bout de time dat all de critters… Some folks tell it in a sto’y, som… ‘Peahs to me you ought to hyeahed… Well, de critters all was p’osp’ou…

HELLO, ole man, you’re a—gittin’… An’ it beats ole Ned to see the w… 'At the crow’s feet’s a—getherin’… Tho’ it oughtn’t to cause me no su… Fur there’s many a sun 'at you’ve…

Treat me nice, Miss Mandy Jane, Treat me nice. Dough my love has tu’ned my brain, Treat me nice. I ain’t done a t’ing to shame,

NOT o’er thy dust let there be sp… The gush of maudlin sentiment; Such drift as that is not for thee… Whose life and deeds and songs agr… Sublime in their simplicity.

It is as if a silver chord Were suddenly grown mute, And life’s song with its rhythm wa… Against a silver lute. It is as if a silence fell

TUSKEGEE, ALA., APRIL 22,… Not to the midnight of the gloomy… Do we revert to—day; we look upon The golden present and the future… Whose vistas show us visions of th…

KNOW you, winds that blow your c… Down the verdant valleys, That somewhere you must, perforce, Kiss the brow of Alice? When her gentle face you find,

Gray is the palace where she dwell… Grimly the poplars stand There by the window where she sits… My Lady of Castle Grand. There does she bide the livelong d…

AFTER READING ‘LEAD,… Lead gently, Lord, and slow, For oh, my steps are weak, And ever as I go, Some soothing sentence speak;

Bones a—gittin’ achy, Back a—feelin’ col’, Han’s a—growin’ shaky, Jes’ lak I was ol’. Fros’ erpon de meddah

Out of my heart, one treach’rous w… I locked young Love and threw the… Grief, wandering widely, found the… And hastened with it, straightway,… With Love beside him. He unlocked…

YOU kin talk about yer anthems An’ yer arias an’ sich, An’ yer modern choir—singin’ That you think so awful rich; But you orter heerd us youngsters