Anchored

by Paul Laurence Dunbar

If thro’ the sea of night which here sur-
rounds me,
I could swim out beyond the farthest star,
Break every barrier of circumstance that
bounds me,
And greet the Sun of sweeter life afar,

Tho’ near you there is passion, grief, and
sorrow,
And out there rest and joy and peace and all,
I should renounce that beckoning for to-
morrow,
I could not choose to go beyond your call.