#AmericanWriters
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
Clean the spittoons, boy. Detroit, Chicago, Atlantic City, Palm Beach.
Remember The days of bondage— And remembering— Do not stand still. Go to the highest hill
I, too, sing America. I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen When company comes, But I laugh,
I am God— Without one friend, Alone in my purity World without end. Below me young lovers
When you turn the corner And you run into yourself Then you know that you have turned All the corners that are left
By what sends the white kids I ain’t sent: I know I can’t be President.
It’s such a Bore Being always Poor.
What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore— And then run?
The rent man knocked. He said, Howdy—do? I said, What Can I do for you? He said, You know
The calm, Cool face of the river Asked me for a kiss.
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.
I catch the pattern Of your silence Before you speak I do not need To hear a word.
I sat there singing her Songs in the dark. She said; 'I do not understand The words’.
The census man, The day he came round, Wanted my name To put it down. I said, Johnson,