#AmericanWriters
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,
The ivory gods, And the ebony gods, And the gods of diamond and jade, Sit silently on their temple shelv… While the people
You say I O.K.ed LONG DISTANCE? O.K.ed it when? My goodness, Central That was then!
I live on a park bench. You, Park Avenue. Hell of a distance Between us two. I beg a dime for dinner—
Here I sit With my shoes mismated. Lawdy—mercy! I’s frustrated!
When you turn the corner And you run into yourself Then you know that you have turned All the corners that are left
I’ve known rivers: I’ve known rivers ancient as the w… My soul has grown deep like the ri… I bathed in the Euphrates when da… I built my hut near the Congo and…
Oh, silver tree! Oh, shining rivers of the soul! In a Harlem cabaret Six long—headed jazzers play. A dancing girl whose eyes are bold
Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head w… Let the rain sing you a lullaby. The rain makes still pools on the… The rain makes running pools in th…
I sat there singing her Songs in the dark. She said; 'I do not understand The words’.
I, too, sing America. I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen When company comes, But I laugh,
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
In places like Selma, Alabama, Kids say, In places like Chicago and New York...
You and your whole race. Look down upon the town in which y… And be ashamed. Look down upon white folks And upon yourselves
I know I am The Negro Problem Being wined and dined, Answering the usual questions That come to white mind