Common Things in  General   

I like to hear of wealth and gold,
And El Doradoes in their glory;
I like for silks and satins bold
To sweep and rustle through a story.

The nightingale is sweet of song;
The rare exotic smells divinely;
And knightly men who stride along,
The role heroic carry finely.

But then, upon the other hand,
Our minds have got a way of running
To things that aren't quite so grand,
Which, maybe, we are best in shunning.

For some of us still like to see
The poor man in his dwelling narrow,
The hollyhock, the bumblebee,
The meadow lark, and chirping sparrow.

We like the man who soars and sings
With high and lofty inspiration;
But he who sings of common things
Shall always share our admiration.

By Paul Laurence Dunbar

Tell Your Friends About It | Print This Poem

Comments

You should be logged in to be able to leave comments

Other poems by Paul Laurence Dunbar:

• A Choice
• A Golden Day
• A Negro Love Song
• Accountability
• At the Tavern
• Common Things
• Confirmation
• Distinction
• Douglass
• Encouraged
• Encouragement
• Frederick Douglass
• Howdy, Honey, Howdy
• If I Could But Forget
• Little Brown Baby
• Merry Autumn
• Morning
• My Little March Girl
• Old
• Ships that Pass in the Night
• Signs of the Times
• Song
• Summer in the South
• Sympathy
• The Barrier
• The Debt
• The Haunted Oak
• The Made to Order Smile
• The Old Front Gate
• The Paradox
• The Unlucky Apple
• Theology
• To Dan
• We Wear the Mask
• When Malindy Sings