The Octoroon + 

One drop of midnight in the dawn of life’s pulsating stream + 

Marks her an alien from her kind, a shade amid its gleam; + 

Forevermore her step she bends insular, strange, apart⁠— + 

And none can read the riddle of her wildly warring heart. + 

The stormy current of her blood beats like a mighty sea + 

Against the man-wrought iron bars of her captivity. + 

For refuge, succor, peace and rest, she seeks that humble fold + 

Whose every breath is kindliness, whose hearts are purest gold. + 