#AmericanWriters
My name is Johnson— Madam Alberta K. The Madam stands for business. I’m smart that way. I had a
Clean the spittoons, boy. Detroit, Chicago, Atlantic City, Palm Beach.
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
Down in the bass That steady beat Walking walking walking Like marching feet. Down in the bass
I live on a park bench. You, Park Avenue. Hell of a distance Between us two. I beg a dime for dinner—
Night funeral In Harlem: Where did they get Them two fine cars? Insurance man, he did not pay—
Harlem Sent him home in a long box— Too dead To know why:
I went down to the river, I set down on the bank. I tried to think but couldn’t, So I jumped in and sank. I came up once and hollered!
Let America be America again. Let it be the dream it used to be. Let it be the pioneer on the plain Seeking a home where he himself is… (America never was America to me.…
Tell all my mourners To mourn in red — Cause there ain’t no sense In my bein’ dead.
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.
He glides so swiftly Back into the grass— Gives me the courtesy of road To let me pass, That I am half ashamed
She, In the dark, Found light Brighter than many ever see. She,
How quiet It is in this sick room Where on the bed A silent woman lies between two lo… Life and Death,
In an envelope marked: PERSONAL God addressed me a letter. In an envelope marked: PERSONAL