#Americans #Blacks
Hold fast to dreams For if dreams die Life is a broken-winged bird That cannot fly. Hold fast to dreams
Tell all my mourners To mourn in red — Cause there ain’t no sense In my bein’ dead.
It would be nice In any case, To someday meet you Face to face Walking down
I would liken you To a night without stars Were it not for your eyes. I would liken you To a sleep without dreams
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
Clean the spittoons, boy. Detroit, Chicago, Atlantic City, Palm Beach.
I catch the pattern Of your silence Before you speak I do not need To hear a word.
Big Boy came Carrying a mermaid On his shoulders And the mermaid Had her tail
I sat there singing her Songs in the dark. She said; 'I do not understand The words’.
The rent man knocked. He said, Howdy—do? I said, What Can I do for you? He said, You know
I look at the world From awakening eyes in a black fac… And this is what I see: This fenced—off narrow space Assigned to me.
I know I am The Negro Problem Being wined and dined, Answering the usual questions That come to white mind
Good morning, daddy! Ain’t you heard The boogie—woogie rumble Of a dream deferred? Listen closely:
Down in the bass That steady beat Walking walking walking Like marching feet. Down in the bass
The ivory gods, And the ebony gods, And the gods of diamond and jade, Sit silently on their temple shelv… While the people
