On October 28, 1895, Paul Laurence Dunbar in Dayton told Alice Ruth Moore in New Orleans that she was the inspiration for his romantic poem "Ione." Paul and Alice had been writing to each other for six months but had yet to meet in person. In a previous letter, Paul had declared his love for her, and felt foolish about it afterward.
After coming to my senses and realizing what I had done, I stood aghast at my own foolhardiness and wondered what you would say in reply. I did not expect to be dealt with in half so gentle, considerate or tactful a manner. It is one thing to realize that one has been a fool and another thing to be made to feel this truth by someone else. You did not make me feel so. It was good of you.
Another poem which I am trying to finish for my book is to be called "Ione." It is a lyric narrative and is to be somewhat long. You seem somehow to be woven into the fabric of it, but that is true of all my work now. This is verging on dangerous ground again so I will warn myself away and close. God bless you, my friend, helper and inspiration!
Paul Laurence Dunbar to Alice Ruth Moore, October 28, 1895. Paul Laurence Dunbar Papers, Ohio History Connection (Microfilm edition, Roll 8).
With 29 stanzas and 261 lines, "Ione" is by far Paul's longest poem. Inspired by Alice, the verses describe a woman's ideal beauty.
A face serene that, beaming brightly,
Disarmed the hot sun’s glances bold.
A foot that kissed the ground so lightly,
He frowned in wrath and deemed her cold,
But loved her still though he was old.
A form where every maiden grace
Bloomed to perfection’s richest flower, --
The statued pose of conscious power,
Like lithe-limbed Dian's of the chase.
Beneath a brow too fair for frowning,
Like moonlit deeps that glass the skies
Till all the hosts above seem drowning,
Looked forth her steadfast hazel eyes,
With gaze serene and purely wise.
And over all, her tresses rare,
Which, when, with his desire grown weak,
The Night bent down to kiss her cheek,
Entrapped and held him captive there.Excerpt from "Ione," by Paul Laurence Dunbar. Published in Majors and Minors (1895).
Some of Paul's other poems mention an imaginary woman named Phyllis ("A Bridal Measure," "Phyllis" and "Retort"), but after encountering Alice he had someone real to write about.
Know you winds that blow your course
Down the verdant valleys,
That somewhere you must, perforce,
Kiss the brow of Alice?
When her gentle face you find,
Kiss it softly, naughty wind.
Roses waving fair and sweet
Thro' the garden alleys,
Grow into a glory meet
For the eye of Alice;
Let the wind your offering bear
Of sweet perfume, faint and rare.
Excerpt from "Alice," by Paul Laurence Dunbar. Published in Majors and Minors (1895).
Later that year, Paul went to a wedding in Chicago and discovered that he was not the only poet writing verses about Alice.
On Friday night after the wedding, the boys gave me a stag banquet. Imagine my surprise when someone called on my friend N. H. A. Moore to recite the poem he had dedicated to Alice Ruth Moore! Ye Gods! Is Alice Ruth Moore to be the theme of every tawny-skinned poet? The toast of every dark gallant? What do you do with the hearts of the men slain by the shafts of your charm, so far reaching that they touch even those who have never seen you?
Paul Laurence Dunbar to Alice Ruth Moore, December 29, 1895. Paul Laurence Dunbar Papers, Ohio History Connection (Microfilm edition, Roll 8).
A year earlier, another poem about Alice had been written by Charles Alexander, publisher of a Boston journal called the Monthly Review. Paul first became aware of Alice by reading her work in that publication.
Thou art versatile and thy work excels.
Thy place is in the realm where genius dwells;
That matchless song from young and healthy mind
Shall charm the best and noblest of mankind;
No mawkish visitation of splendid truth
Did'st mar the suavity of thy youth;
So, may thy gentle life be sweet and grand.
And may for right and justice be thy stand.
And if there be a better, happier place
For mortal man in future time to face,
Fairest hopes thou may'st cherish, for thy name,
Shall clearly shine with honor, splendor, fame.
"Miss Alice Ruth Moore," by Charles Alexander. The Cleveland Gazette (Cleveland, Ohio). December 15, 1894. Page 3.