#AmericanWriters
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,
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,
In the Quarter of the Negroes Where the doors are doors of paper Dust of dingy atoms Blows a scratchy sound. Amorphous jack—o’—Lanterns caper
The census man, The day he came round, Wanted my name To put it down. I said, Johnson,
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…
Gather quickly Out of darkness All the songs you know And throw them at the sun Before they melt
Let’s go see Old Abe Sitting in the marble and the moon… Sitting lonely in the marble and t… Quiet for ten thousand centuries,… Quiet for a million, million years…
I know I am The Negro Problem Being wined and dined, Answering the usual questions That come to white mind
I work all day, Said Simple John, Myself a house to buy. I work all day, Said Simple John,
He glides so swiftly Back into the grass— Gives me the courtesy of road To let me pass, That I am half ashamed
The calm, Cool face of the river Asked me for a kiss.
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 would liken you To a night without stars Were it not for your eyes. I would liken you To a sleep without dreams
From Christ to Ghandi Appears this truth— St. Francis of Assisi Proves it, too: Goodness becomes grandeur
Landlord, landlord, My roof has sprung a leak. Don’t you 'member I told you abou… Way last week? Landlord, landlord,