#AmericanWriters 1931 October Originally Poetry appeared in issue magazine of the
In an envelope marked: PERSONAL God addressed me a letter. In an envelope marked: PERSONAL
Only dumb guys fight. If I wasn’t dumb I wouldn’t be fightin’. I could make six dollars a day On the docks
I could take the Harlem night and wrap around you, Take the neon lights and make a cr… Take the Lenox Avenue busses, Taxis, subways,
Democracy will not come Today, this year Nor ever Through compromise and fear. I have as much right
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—
The census man, The day he came round, Wanted my name To put it down. I said, Johnson,
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
She, In the dark, Found light Brighter than many ever see. She,
From Christ to Ghandi Appears this truth— St. Francis of Assisi Proves it, too: Goodness becomes grandeur
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…
2 and 2 are 4. 4 and 4 are 8. But what would happen If the last 4 was late? And how would it be
You say I O.K.ed LONG DISTANCE? O.K.ed it when? My goodness, Central That was then!
Goin’ down the road, Lawd, Goin’ down the road. Down the road, Lawd, Way, way down the road. Got to find somebody
The rent man knocked. He said, Howdy—do? I said, What Can I do for you? He said, You know
Fine living . . . a la carte? Come to the Waldorf—Astoria! LISTEN HUNGRY ONES! Look! See what Vanity Fair says… new Waldorf—Astoria: