A New Kind of Literary Pulse

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Classics African American Literature 19th Century  1 min

Ships That Pass in the Night

Paul Laurence Dunbar

Paul Laurence Dunbar

Paul Laurence Dunbar was an American poet, novelist and playwright whose reputation was based on his verses and short stories written in black dialect. He is known as the first African American writer who tried to live off of his writings. Dunbar was also one of the first black authors to gain national fame and international reputation in the United States.

Out in the sky the great dark clouds are massing;I look far out into the pregnant night,Where I can hear a solemn booming gunAnd catch the gleaming of a random light,That tells me that the ship I seek is passing, passing. My tearful eyes my soul's deep hurt are glassing;For I would hail and check that ship of ships.I stretch my hands imploring, cry aloud,My voice falls dead a foot from mine own lips,And but its ghost doth reach that vessel, passing, passing. O Earth, O Sky, O Ocean, both surpassing,O heart of mine, O soul that dreads the dark!Is there no hope for me? Is there no wayThat I ma