Langston Hughes

Merry-Go-Round

Where is the Jim Crow sectionOn this merry-go-round,Mister, cause I want to ride?Down South where I come fromWhite and coloredCan't…

2 months ago

Madam and Her Madam

I worked for a woman,She wasn't mean--But she had a twelve-roomHouse to clean.Had to get breakfast,Dinner, and supper, too--Then take…

2 months ago

Lincoln Monument: Washington

Let's go see Old AbeSitting in the marble and the moonlight,Sitting lonely in the marble and the moonlight,Quiet for ten…

2 months ago

Let America be America Again

Let America be America again.Let it be the dream it used to be.Let it be the pioneer on the plainSeeking…

2 months ago

Juke Box Love Song

I could take the Harlem nightand wrap around you,Take the neon lights and make a crown,Take the Lenox Avenue busses,Taxis,…

2 months ago

I, Too, Sing America

I, too, sing America.I am the darker brother.They send me to eat in the kitchenWhen company comes,But I laugh,And eat…

2 months ago

Freedom’s Plow

When a man starts out with nothing,When a man starts out with his handsEmpty, but clean,When a man starts to…

2 months ago

Dreams

Hold fast to dreamsFor if dreams dieLife is a broken-winged birdThat cannot fly.Hold fast to dreamsFor when dreams goLife is…

2 months ago

Dream Deferred

What happens to a dream deferred?Does it dry upLike a raisin in the sun?Or fester like a sore--And then run?Does…

2 months ago

Democracy

Democracy will not comeToday, this yearNor everThrough compromise and fear.I have as much rightAs the other fellow hasTo standOn my…

2 months ago