When the Sun Goes Down

When the sun goes down and the light is bare, And the shadows creep on with a sigh, There will be a voice in the dark somewhere That will call me low, in a voice that is shy.

I have often rejoiced, in the sheen of the skies, With the thrill of the leaves, as they drifted down; But in silence and dream of the night, there lies The song that is caught in the silence’s crown.

And I watch in the star-led glimmer, afire, While the breeze thrills out from the leaves above, Till the night falls soft with the shining desire, That will call on the dream of a yearning love.

• Paul Laurence Dunbar