II

_Laughing It Out_

He had a whim and laughed it out

Upon the exit of a chance;

He floundered in a sea of doubt--

If life was real--or just romance.

Sometimes upon his brow would come

A little pucker of defiance;

He totalled in a word the sum

Of all man made of facts and science.

And then a hearty laugh would break,

A reassuring shrug of shoulder;

And we would from his fancy take

A faith in death which made life bolder.

The Book of American Negro Poetry · 第 47 / 169 题