Yesterday and Today Paul Laurence Dunbar

Yesterday I held your hand,

Reverently I pressed it,

And its gentle yieldingness

From my soul I blessed it.

But to-day I sit alone,

Sad and sore repining;

Must our gold forever know

Flames for the refining?

Yesterday I walked with you,

Could a day be sweeter?

Life was all a lyric song

Set to tricksy meter.

Ah, to-day is like a dirge,—

Place my arms around you,

Let me feel the same dear joy

As when first I found you.

Let me once retrace my steps,

From these roads unpleasant,

Let my heart and mind and soul

All ignore the present.

Yesterday the iron seared

And to-day means sorrow.

Pause, my soul, arise, arise,

Look where gleams the morrow.

What did the speaker do with the person's hand yesterday?

• Pressed it gently

• Ignored it

• Blessed it

• Refined it with flames

Yesterday I held your hand,

Reverently I pressed it,

And its gentle yieldingness

From my soul I blessed it.

But to-day I sit alone,

Sad and sore repining;

Must our gold forever know

Flames for the refining?

Yesterday I walked with you,

Could a day be sweeter?

Life was all a lyric song

Set to tricksy meter.

Ah, to-day is like a dirge,—

Place my arms around you,

Let me feel the same dear joy

As when first I found you.

Let me once retrace my steps,

From these roads unpleasant,

Let my heart and mind and soul

All ignore the present.

Yesterday the iron seared

And to-day means sorrow.

Pause, my soul, arise, arise,

Look where gleams the morrow.

How does the speaker feel today?

• Sad and sore

• Happy and content

• Excited and hopeful

• Lonely and lost

Yesterday I held your hand,

Reverently I pressed it,

And its gentle yieldingness

From my soul I blessed it.

But to-day I sit alone,

Sad and sore repining;

Must our gold forever know

Flames for the refining?

Yesterday I walked with you,

Could a day be sweeter?

Life was all a lyric song

Set to tricksy meter.

Ah, to-day is like a dirge,—

Place my arms around you,

Let me feel the same dear joy

As when first I found you.

Let me once retrace my steps,

From these roads unpleasant,

Let my heart and mind and soul

All ignore the present.

Yesterday the iron seared

And to-day means sorrow.

Pause, my soul, arise, arise,

Look where gleams the morrow.

What was life like when the speaker walked with the person?

• A lyric song

• A dirge

• Unpleasant

• Sorrowful

Yesterday I held your hand,

Reverently I pressed it,

And its gentle yieldingness

From my soul I blessed it.

But to-day I sit alone,

Sad and sore repining;

Must our gold forever know

Flames for the refining?

Yesterday I walked with you,

Could a day be sweeter?

Life was all a lyric song

Set to tricksy meter.

Ah, to-day is like a dirge,—

Place my arms around you,

Let me feel the same dear joy

As when first I found you.

Let me once retrace my steps,

From these roads unpleasant,

Let my heart and mind and soul

All ignore the present.

Yesterday the iron seared

And to-day means sorrow.

Pause, my soul, arise, arise,

Look where gleams the morrow.

What does the speaker want to feel again?

• The same dear joy

• Sadness and repining

• The present

• The refining flames

Yesterday I held your hand,

Reverently I pressed it,

And its gentle yieldingness

From my soul I blessed it.

But to-day I sit alone,

Sad and sore repining;

Must our gold forever know

Flames for the refining?

Yesterday I walked with you,

Could a day be sweeter?

Life was all a lyric song

Set to tricksy meter.

Ah, to-day is like a dirge,—

Place my arms around you,

Let me feel the same dear joy

As when first I found you.

Let me once retrace my steps,

From these roads unpleasant,

Let my heart and mind and soul

All ignore the present.

Yesterday the iron seared

And to-day means sorrow.

Pause, my soul, arise, arise,

Look where gleams the morrow.

What does the speaker want their soul to do?

• Pause and arise

• Ignore the present

• Look where gleams the morrow

• All of the above