The Optimist

Who would have the sky any color but blue,
     Or the grass any color but green?
Or the flowers that bloom the summer through
     Of other color or sheen?

How the sunshine gladdens the human heart—
     How the sound of the falling rain
Will cause the tender tears to start,
     And free the soul from pain.

Oh, this old world is a great old place!
     And I love each season’s change,
The river, the brook of purling grace,
     The valley, the mountain range.

And when I am called to quit this life,
     My feet will not spurn the sod,
Though I leave this world with its beauty rife,—
     There’s a glorious one with God!

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“The Optimist” originally appeared in Negro Poets and Their Poems (Associated Publishers, 1923).

Black Lives Matter Anthology

“This is not a small voice
you hear               this is a large
voice coming out of these cities.”

—“This Is Not a Small Voice” by Sonia Sanchez