Behind The Arras

Behind The Arras by Paul Laurence Dunbar

In the 1913 collection of his work, The Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar

           BEHIND THE ARRAS
As in some dim baronial hall restrained,
A prisoner sits, engirt by secret doors
And waving tapestries that argue forth
Strange passages into the outer air;
So in this dimmer room which we call life,
Thus sits the soul and marks with eye intent
That mystic curtain o'er the portal death;
Still deeming that behind the arras lies
The lambent way that leads to lasting light.
Poor fooled and foolish soul! Know now that death
Is but a blind, false door that nowhere leads,
And gives no hope of exit final, free.

This work published before January 1, 1923 is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.