One drop of midnight in the dawn of life's pulsating stream Marks her an alien from her kind, a shade amid its gleam; Forevermore her step she bends insular, strange, apart— And none can read the riddle of her wildly warring heart. The stormy current of her blood beats like a mighty sea Against the man-wrought iron bars of her captivity. For refuge, succor, peace and rest, she seeks that humble fold Whose every breath is kindliness, whose hearts are purest gold. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...ELEGY BEFORE DEATH by EDNA ST. VINCENT MILLAY THE LAND OF COUNTERPANE by ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON AGE IN YOUTH by TRUMBULL STICKNEY PEACE ON EARTH by WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS LINES WRITTEN BY A DEATH-BED by MATTHEW ARNOLD MISS MILLY O'NAIRE by WILLARD GROSVENOR BLEYER |