Poetry Corner
2 min read
Portrait
By George Leonard Allen
Her eyes? Dark pools of deepest shade,
Like sylvan lakes that lie
In some sequestered forest glade
Beneath a starry sky.
Her cheeks? The ripened chestnut’s hue,—
Rich autumn’s sun-kissed brown!
Caressed by sunbeams dancing through
Red leaves that flutter down.
Her form? A slender pine that sways
Before the murmuring breeze
In summer, when the south wind plays
Soft music through the trees.
Herself? A laughing, joyous sprite
Who smiles from dawn till dark,
As lovely as a summer night
And carefree as a lark.
From Caroling Dusk (Harper & Brothers, 1927), edited by Countee Cullen. This poem is in the public domain.
About the poet: George Leonard Allen was born in Lumberton, North Carolina, on September 10, 1905. He was one of nine children. His father, David P. Allen, taught at Lumberton Normal School (later, Whitin Normal School), a secondary school for African American students. One of his pupils included U.S. Representative George Henry White. The elder Allen also managed the school, which remained open until his death.
George Allen attended Redstone Academy in Lumberton, where he developed a love of literature, particularly poetry. Allen attended college at Johnson C. Smith University, a private and historically-Black university in Charlotte, North Carolina. During this time, he also developed as a pianist. He graduated in 1926 as his class valedictorian.
Allen initially published literary work in school and local publications. While teaching at Kendall Institute in Sumter, South Carolina, one of the first schools for African Americans founded in the town, he published literature in numerous other periodicals, including Opportunity magazine. George Leonard Allen died in 1935.