Tell Me
--Jean Toomer 

Tell me, dear beauty of the dusk,
...When purple ribbons bind the hill,
...Do dreams your secret wish fulfill,
Do prayers, like kernels from the husk

Come from your lips? Tell me if when
...The mountains loom at night, giant shades
...Of softer shadow, swift like blades
Of grass seeds come to flower. Then

Tell me if the night winds bend
...Them towards me, if the Shenandoah
...As it ripples past your shore,
Catches the soul of what you send.