Poems Written By Langston Hughes
Democracy
Democracy will not come
Today, this year
Nor ever
Through compromise
and fear.
I have as much right
As the other fellow has
To
stand
On my two feet
And own the land.
I tire so of hearing people
say,
Let things take their course.
Tomorrow is another day.
I do not
need my freedom when I'm dead.
I cannot live on tomorrow's
bread.
Freedom
Is a strong seed
Planted
In a great
need.
I live here, too.
I want freedom
Just as you.
As I Grew Older
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-
My dream.
And then the
wall rose,
Rose slowly,
Slowly,
Between me and my dream.
Rose until
it touched the sky-
The wall.
Shadow.
I am black.
I lie down in the
shadow.
No longer the light of my dream before me,
Above me.
Only the
thick wall.
Only the shadow.
My hands!
My dark hands!
Break
through the wall!
Find my dream!
Help me to shatter this darkness,
To
smash this night,
To break this shadow
Into a thousand lights of
sun,
Into a thousand whirling dreams
Of sun!
Dream Variations
To fling my arms wide
In some place of the sun,
To whirl and to
dance
Till the white day is done.
Then rest at cool evening
Beneath a
tall tree
While night comes on gently,
Dark like me-
That is my
dream!
To fling my arms wide
In the face of the sun,
Dance! Whirl!
Whirl!
Till the quick day is done.
Rest at pale evening...
A tall, slim
tree...
Night coming tenderly
Black like me.