For a Poet

(To John Gaston Edgar)

I have wrapped my dreams in a silken cloth,

And laid them away in a box of gold;

Where long will cling the lips of the moth,

I have wrapped my dreams in a silken cloth;

I hide no hate; I am not even wroth

Who found earth's breath so keen and cold;

I have wrapped my dreams in a silken cloth,

And laid them away in a box of gold.

1927

--Countee Cullen