#AmericanWriters
I worked for a woman, She wasn’t mean— But she had a twelve—room House to clean. Had to get breakfast,
My old mule, He’s gota grin on his face. He’s been a mule so long He’s forgotten about his race. I’m like that old mule —
Only dumb guys fight. If I wasn’t dumb I wouldn’t be fightin’. I could make six dollars a day On the docks
Remember The days of bondage— And remembering— Do not stand still. Go to the highest hill
Hold fast to dreams For if dreams die Life is a broken-winged bird That cannot fly. Hold fast to dreams
When the shoe strings break On both your shoes And you’re in a hurry— That’s the blues. When you go to buy a candy bar
And that is what poetry may do, wrap up your dreams, protect and preserve and hold them until maybe they come true. Columbus dreamed of finding a new world, he found it. Edison dreamed ...
You sicken me with lies, With truthful lies. And with your pious faces. And your wide, out—stretched, mock—welcome, Christian hands.
I know I am The Negro Problem Being wined and dined, Answering the usual questions That come to white mind
You say I O.K.ed LONG DISTANCE? O.K.ed it when? My goodness, Central That was then!
She, In the dark, Found light Brighter than many ever see. She,
I sat there singing her Songs in the dark. She said; 'I do not understand The words’.
The night is beautiful, So the faces of my people. The stars are beautiful, So the eyes of my people. Beautiful, also, is the sun.
We passed their graves: The dead men there, Winners or losers, Did not care. In the dark
By what sends the white kids I ain’t sent: I know I can’t be President.