The ivory gods, And the ebony gods, And the gods of diamond and jade, Sit silently on their temple shelv… While the people

That Justice is a blind goddess Is a thing to which we black are w… Her bandage hides two festering so… That once perhaps were eyes.

Democracy will not come Today, this year Nor ever Through compromise and fear. I have as much right

I am your son, white man! Georgia dusk And the turpentine woods. One of the pillars of the temple f… You are my son!

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,

How still, How strangely still The water is today, It is not good For water

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.

Hold fast to dreams For if dreams die Life is a broken-winged bird That cannot fly. Hold fast to dreams

Have you dug the spill Of Sugar Hill? Cast your gims On this sepia thrill: Brown sugar lassie,