Oh, for the veils of my far away youth,
Shielding my heart from the blaze of the truth,
Why did I stray from their shelter and grow
Into the sadness that follows-to know!

Impotent atom with desolate gaze
Threading the tumult of hazardous ways-
Oh, for the veils, for the veils of my youth
Veils that hung low o'er the blaze of the truth!

About this poem
"Lost Illusions" was published in "The Book of American Negro Poetry," edited by James Weldon Johnson (Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1922).

About Georgia Douglas Johnson
Georgia Douglas Johnson was born in Atlanta in 1880. A member of the Harlem Renaissance, she published several collections of poetry, including "The Heart of a Woman" (The Cornhill Company, 1918) and "Share My World" (Halfway House, 1962). She died in 1966.

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