#AmericanWriters
I know I am The Negro Problem Being wined and dined, Answering the usual questions That come to white mind
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 was so sick last night I Didn’t hardly know my mind. So sick last night I Didn’t know my mind. I drunk some bad licker that
I catch the pattern Of your silence Before you speak I do not need To hear a word.
My name is Johnson— Madam Alberta K. The Madam stands for business. I’m smart that way. I had a
In places like Selma, Alabama, Kids say, In places like Chicago and New York...
In the Quarter of the Negroes Where the doors are doors of paper Dust of dingy atoms Blows a scratchy sound. Amorphous jack—o’—Lanterns caper
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
The ivory gods, And the ebony gods, And the gods of diamond and jade, Sit silently on their temple shelv… While the people
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
The census man, The day he came round, Wanted my name To put it down. I said, Johnson,
I’ve known rivers: I’ve known rivers ancient as the w… flow of human blood in human veins My soul has grown deep like the ri… I bathed in the Euphrates when da…
'Me an’ ma baby’s Got two mo’ ways, Two mo’ ways to do de Charleston!… Da, da, Da, da, da!
Clean the spittoons, boy. Detroit, Chicago, Atlantic City, Palm Beach.
Because my mouth Is wide with laughter And my throat Is deep with song, You do not think