#AmericanWriters #BlackWriters
Down in the bass That steady beat Walking walking walking Like marching feet. Down in the bass
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.
Now dreams Are not available To the dreamers, Nor songs To the singers.
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…
It was a long time ago. I have almost forgotten my dream. But it was there then, In front of me, Bright like a sun—
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!
You say I O.K.ed LONG DISTANCE? O.K.ed it when? My goodness, Central That was then!
In an envelope marked: PERSONAL God addressed me a letter. In an envelope marked: PERSONAL
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 ...
I, too, sing America. I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen When company comes, But I laugh,
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 worked for a woman, She wasn’t mean— But she had a twelve—room House to clean. Had to get breakfast,
When Susanna Jones wears red her face is like an ancient cameo Turned brown by the ages. Come with a blast of trumphets, J… When Susanna Jones wears red
Here I sit With my shoes mismated. Lawdy—mercy! I’s frustrated!
Goin’ down the road, Lawd, Goin’ down the road. Down the road, Lawd, Way, way down the road. Got to find somebody