#AmericanWriters
When a man starts out with nothing… When a man starts out with his han… Empty, but clean, When a man starts to build a world… He starts first with himself
I would liken you To a night without stars Were it not for your eyes. I would liken you To a sleep without dreams
The ivory gods, And the ebony gods, And the gods of diamond and jade, Sit silently on their temple shelv… While the people
I know I am The Negro Problem Being wined and dined, Answering the usual questions That come to white mind
When I get to be a composer I’m gonna write me some music abou… Daybreak in Alabama And I’m gonna put the purtiest so… Rising out of the ground like a sw…
My name is Johnson— Madam Alberta K. The Madam stands for business. I’m smart that way. I had a
How quiet It is in this sick room Where on the bed A silent woman lies between two lo… Life and Death,
Here I sit With my shoes mismated. Lawdy—mercy! I’s frustrated!
I catch the pattern Of your silence Before you speak I do not need To hear a word.
Goin’ down the road, Lawd, Goin’ down the road. Down the road, Lawd, Way, way down the road. Got to find somebody
What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore— And then run?
To fling my arms wide In some place of the sun, To whirl and to dance Till the white day is done. Then rest at cool evening
The gold moth did not love him So, gorgeous, she flew away. But the gray moth circled the flam… Until the break of day. And then, with wings like a dead d…
Fine living . . . a la carte? Come to the Waldorf—Astoria! LISTEN HUNGRY ONES! Look! See what Vanity Fair says… new Waldorf—Astoria:
God in His infinite wisdom Did not make me very wise— So when my actions are stupid They hardly take God by surprise