#Americans #Blacks #FreeVerse #RaceAndEthnicity #SocialCommentaries & Heroes Patriotism
'Me an’ ma baby’s Got two mo’ ways, Two mo’ ways to do de Charleston!… Da, da, Da, da, da!
I would liken you To a night without stars Were it not for your eyes. I would liken you To a sleep without dreams
I know I am The Negro Problem Being wined and dined, Answering the usual questions That come to white mind
I am God— Without one friend, Alone in my purity World without end. Below me young lovers
I went down to the river, I set down on the bank. I tried to think but couldn’t, So I jumped in and sank. I came up once and hollered!
Big Boy came Carrying a mermaid On his shoulders And the mermaid Had her tail
Where is the Jim Crow section On this merry—go—round, Mister, cause I want to ride? Down South where I come from White and colored
You sicken me with lies, With truthful lies. And with your pious faces. And your wide, out—stretched, mock—welcome, Christian hands.
I went to the Gypsy’s. Gypsy settin’ all alone. I said, Tell me, Gypsy, When will my gal be home? Gypsy said, Silver,
Have you dug the spill Of Sugar Hill? Cast your gims On this sepia thrill: Brown sugar lassie,
Let’s go see Old Abe Sitting in the marble and the moon… Sitting lonely in the marble and t… Quiet for ten thousand centuries,… Quiet for a million, million years…
The census man, The day he came round, Wanted my name To put it down. I said, Johnson,
The rent man knocked. He said, Howdy—do? I said, What Can I do for you? He said, You know
Well, son, I’ll tell you: Life for me ain’t been no crystal… It’s had tacks in it, And splinters, And boards torn up,
I woke up this mornin’ ’Bout half-past three. All the womens in town Was gathered round me. Sweet gals was a-moanin’,