Paul Laurence Dunbar
Anchored
If thro' the sea of night
which here summons 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.