#AmericanWriters
I, too, sing America. I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen When company comes, But I laugh,
We passed their graves: The dead men there, Winners or losers, Did not care. In the dark
I know I am The Negro Problem Being wined and dined, Answering the usual questions That come to white mind
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 work all day, Said Simple John, Myself a house to buy. I work all day, Said Simple John,
How quiet It is in this sick room Where on the bed A silent woman lies between two lo… Life and Death,
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—
Children, I come back today To tell you a story of the long da… That I had to climb, that I had t… In order that the race might live… Look at my face —dark as the night…
I take my dreams and make of them… and a round fountain with a beauti… And a song with a broken heart and… Do you understand my dreams? Sometimes you say you do,
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,
By what sends the white kids I ain’t sent: I know I can’t be President.
When you turn the corner And you run into yourself Then you know that you have turned All the corners that are left
In places like Selma, Alabama, Kids say, In places like Chicago and New York...
When a man starts out with nothing… When a man starts out with his han… Empty, but clean, When a man starts to build a world… He starts first with himself