#AmericanWriters
My name is Johnson— Madam Alberta K. The Madam stands for business. I’m smart that way. I had a
I’ve known rivers: I’ve known rivers ancient as the w… flow of human blood in human veins My soul has grown deep like the ri… I bathed in the Euphrates when da…
Down in the bass That steady beat Walking walking walking Like marching feet. Down in the bass
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
I would liken you To a night without stars Were it not for your eyes. I would liken you To a sleep without dreams
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,
In an envelope marked: PERSONAL God addressed me a letter. In an envelope marked: PERSONAL
You sicken me with lies, With truthful lies. And with your pious faces. And your wide, out—stretched, mock—welcome, Christian hands.
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,
I work all day, Said Simple John, Myself a house to buy. I work all day, Said Simple John,
My old mule, He’s gota grin on his face. He’s been a mule so long He’s forgotten about his race. I’m like that old mule —
And that is what poetry may do, wrap up your dreams, protect and preserve and hold them until maybe they come true. Columbus dreamed of finding a new world, he found it. Edison dreamed ...
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!
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—
I catch the pattern Of your silence Before you speak I do not need To hear a word.