Alice Dunbar-Nelson

 

"Sonnet"

 

I had not thought of violets late,

The wild, shy kind that spring beneath your feet

In wistful April days, when lovers mate

And wander through the fields in raptures sweet.

The thought of violets meant florists' shops,

And cabarets and soaps, and deadening wines.

So far from sweet real things my thoughts had strayed,

I had forgot wide fields; and clear brown streams;

The perfect loveliness that God has made,—

Wild violets shy and Heaven-mounting dreams.

And now—unwittingly, you've made me dream

Of violets, and my soul's forgotten gleam.

 

               -The Crisis, August 1917

 

Alice Dunbar-Nelson was a poet, journalist, and political activist during the Harlem Renaissance. She was actively engaged in the women's suffrage and civil rights movements of the 1920's and 30's, and had a prominent journalistic presence in newspapers and academic journals. Although much of her poetry and short stories are devoted to issues of color bias and race, Dunbar-Nelson was also known do delve into matters of sexuality. 

 

The above poem, "Sonnet," is one of Dunbar-Nelson's most well-recognized works. At first glance, it seems to be a simple reminiscing of a long-gone love. It's meaning, however, takes on new light when compared with her closely related short story. 

 

"Violets" by Alice Dunbar-Nelson