#Americans #Blacks
I, too, sing America. I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen When company comes, But I laugh,
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.
Fine living . . . a la carte? Come to the Waldorf—Astoria! LISTEN HUNGRY ONES! Look! See what Vanity Fair says… new Waldorf—Astoria:
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
Droning a drowsy syncopated tune, Rocking back and forth to a mellow… I heard a Negro play. Down on Lenox Avenue the other ni… By the pale dull pallor of an old…
The census man, The day he came round, Wanted my name To put it down. I said, Johnson,
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
From Christ to Ghandi Appears this truth— St. Francis of Assisi Proves it, too: Goodness becomes grandeur
We passed their graves: The dead men there, Winners or losers, Did not care. In the dark
I work all day, Said Simple John, Myself a house to buy. I work all day, Said Simple John,
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—
In an envelope marked: PERSONAL God addressed me a letter. In an envelope marked: PERSONAL
When you turn the corner And you run into yourself Then you know that you have turned All the corners that are left
I catch the pattern Of your silence Before you speak I do not need To hear a word.
I would liken you To a night without stars Were it not for your eyes. I would liken you To a sleep without dreams