Come when the nights are bright with stars
Or when the moon is mellow;
Come when the sun his golden bars
Drops on the hay-field yellow.
Come in the twilight soft and gray,
Come in the night or come in the day,
Come, O love, whene'er you may,
And you are welcome, welcome.

You are sweet, O Love, dear Love,
You are soft as the nesting dove.
Come to my heart and bring it rest
As the bird flies home to its welcome nest.

Come when my heart is full of grief
Or when my heart is merry;
Come with the falling of the leaf
Or with the redd'ning cherry.
Come when the year's first blossom blows,
Come when the summer gleams and glows,
Come with the winter's drifting snows,
And you are welcome, welcome.


About This Poem
"Invitation to Love" was published in Dunbar's book "The Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar," originally published by Dodd, Mead, and Company in 1913 and reprinted in 1922.

About Paul Laurence Dunbar
Paul Laurence Dunbar, one of the first African-American poets to gain national recognition, was born in Dayton, Ohio, in 1872. He published several collections of poetry, as well as many short stories and novels, before his death in 1906.

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This poem is in the public domain. Published in Poem-a-Day, www.poets.org. Distributed by King Features Syndicate