- Year Published: 1913
- Language: English
- Country of Origin: United States of America
- Source: Dunbar, P.L. (1913). The Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar. New York: Dodd, Mead, and Company.
- Flesch–Kincaid Level: 6.5
- Word Count: 69
Dunbar, P. (1913). "Comparison". Lyrics of Lowly Life (Lit2Go Edition). Retrieved December 08, 2023, from
Dunbar, Paul Laurence. ""Comparison"." Lyrics of Lowly Life. Lit2Go Edition. 1913. Web. <>. December 08, 2023.
Paul Laurence Dunbar, ""Comparison"," Lyrics of Lowly Life, Lit2Go Edition, (1913), accessed December 08, 2023,.
The sky of brightest gray seems dark
To one whose sky was ever white.
To one who never knew a spark,
Thro’ all his life, of love or light,
The grayest cloud seems over–bright.
The robin sounds a beggar’s note
Where one the nightingale has heard,
But he for whom no silver throat
Its liquid music ever stirred,
Deems robin still the sweetest bird.