Caroling Dusk/Protest

For other versions of this work, see Protest (Cullen).

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I Have a Rendezvous with Life

Caroling Dusk (1927)
edited by Countee Cullen

Protest by Countee Cullen

Yet Do I Marvel

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Countee Cullen4757805Caroling Dusk — Protest1927Countee Cullen

PROTEST

I long not now, a little while at least,For that serene interminable hourWhen I shall leave this barmecidal feast,With poppy for my everlasting flower.I long not now for that dim cubicleOf earth to which my lease will not expire,Where he who comes a tenant there may dwellWithout a thought of famine, flood, or fire.

Surely that house has quiet to bestow:Still tongue, spent pulse, heart pumped of its last throb,The fingers tense and tranquil in a row, The throat unwelled with any sigh or sob.But time to live, to love, bear pain and smile,Oh, we are given such a little while!