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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE OCTOROON by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON

Poet Analysis

First Line: ONE DROP OF MIDNIGHT IN THE DAWN OF LIFE'S PULSATING STREAM
Last Line: WHOSE EVERY BREATH IS KINDLINESS, WHOSE HEARTS ARE PUREST GOLD.
Subject(s): AFRICAN AMERICANS; NEGROES; AMERICAN BLACKS;
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.



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