Life

"Life" is part of Zenobia Powell Perry's song cycle Cycle of Songs on Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar.

Date: 1983Composer: Zenobia Powell PerryText: Paul Laurence DunbarSong Collection: Cycle of Songs on Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar

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Text

Life
by Paul Laurence Dunbar

A crust of bread and a corner to sleep in,
A minute to smile and an hour to weep in,
A pint of joy to a peck of trouble,
And never a laugh but the moans come double;
And that is life!

A crust and a corner that love makes precious,
With a smile to warm and the tears to refresh us;
And joy seems sweeter when cares come after,
And a moan is the finest of foils for laughter;
And that is life!

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