Paul Laurence Dunbar - The Paradox lyrics

I am the mother of sorrows, I am the ender of grief; I am the bud and the blossom, I am the late-falling leaf. I am thy priest and thy poet, I am thy serf and thy king; I cure the tears of the heartsick, When I come near they shall sing. White are my hands as the snowdrop; Swart are my fingers as clay; Dark is my frown as the midnight, Fair is my brow as the day. Battle and war are my minions, Doing my will as divine; I am the calmer of pa**ions, Peace is a nursling of mine. Speak to me gently or curse me, Seek me or fly from my sight; I am thy fool in the morning, Thou art my slave in the night. Down to the grave I will take thee, Out from the noise of the strife, Then shalt thou see me and know me-- d**h, then, no longer, but life. Then shalt thou sing at my coming, Kiss me with pa**ionate breath, Clasp me and smile to have thought me Aught save the foeman of d**h. Come to me, brother, when weary, Come when thy lonely heart swells; I'll guide thy footsteps and lead thee Down where the Dream Woman dwells.