#AmericanWriters
Hold fast to dreams For if dreams die Life is a broken-winged bird That cannot fly. Hold fast to dreams
When the shoe strings break On both your shoes And you’re in a hurry— That’s the blues. When you go to buy a candy bar
The night is beautiful, So the faces of my people. The stars are beautiful, So the eyes of my people. Beautiful, also, is the sun.
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,
The census man, The day he came round, Wanted my name To put it down. I said, Johnson,
Down in the bass That steady beat Walking walking walking Like marching feet. Down in the bass
Good morning, daddy! Ain’t you heard The boogie—woogie rumble Of a dream deferred? Listen closely:
How still, How strangely still The water is today, It is not good For water
We passed their graves: The dead men there, Winners or losers, Did not care. In the dark
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.
Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head w… Let the rain sing you a lullaby. The rain makes still pools on the… The rain makes running pools in th…
Tell all my mourners To mourn in red — Cause there ain’t no sense In my bein’ dead.
Being walkers with the dawn and mo… Walkers with the sun and morning, We are not afraid of night, Nor days of gloom, Nor darkness—
In places like Selma, Alabama, Kids say, In places like Chicago and New York...
I would liken you To a night without stars Were it not for your eyes. I would liken you To a sleep without dreams