《The Poetry of Langston Hughes》 Advertisement For The Waldorf-Astoria Fine living . . . a la carte? Come to toria! LIStEN hUNGRY ONES! Look! See y Fair says about the neoria: quot;All te ; No t be c flop-house urned you doer? Furthermore: quot;It is far beyond anyto attempted in tel ; It cost ty-eighe fa- mous Oscar tscing. Alexandre Gastaud is c inguished background for society. So wo go, homeless and hungry ones, che aldorf as a background for your rags-- (Or do you still consider ter midnight good enough?) ROOMERS take a room at ters-- sleepers in cys flop-houses where God pulls a long face, and you o pray to get a bed. t toria. Look at the menu, will you: GUMBO CREOLE CRABMEAt IN CASSOLEttE BOILED BRISKEt OF BEEF SMALL ONIONS IN CREAM AtERCRESS SALAD PEACh MELBA ernoon, all you jobless. ? Dine rich off of your labor, we fingers because your one, sewed gar- ments, poured steel to let other people draw dividends and live easy. (Or you of t- ter bread of cy?) alk tonig noto do. April Rain Song Let the rain kiss you Let t upon your h silver liquid drops Let the rain sing you a lullaby till pools on the sidewalk tter ttle sleep song on our roof at night And I love the rain. As I Grew Older It ime ago. I forgotten my dream. But it hen, In front of me, Bright like a sun-- My dream. And the wall rose, Rose slowly, Slowly, Between me and my dream. Rose until it touche sky-- the wall. Shadow. I am black. I lie dohe shadow. No longer t of my dream before me, Above me. Only thick wall. Only the shadow. My hands! My dark hands! Break the wall! Find my dream! o ster this darkness, to smas, to break this shadow Into a ts of sun, Into a thousand whirling dreams Of sun! Bad Morning ited. Lawdy-mercy! Is frustrated! Childrens Rhymes By w sends te kids I aint sent: I kno be President. dont bug te kids sure bugs me: e know everybody aint free. Lies ten down for we folks aint for us a-tall: lt;igt;Liberty And Justice--lt;/igt; ;igt;For All?lt;/igt; Cross My old mans a we old man And my old mothers black. If ever I cursed my we old man I take my curses back. If ever I cursed my black old mother And wished she were in hell, Im sorry for t evil wish And now I wish her well My old man died in a fine big house. My ma died in a shack. I o die, Being neite nor black? Cultural Exchange In ter of the Negroes he doors are doors of paper Dust of dingy atoms Blochy sound. Amorperns caper And t for midnight For fun to blow doors down. By the railroad ith fluid far-off goind Boundaries bind unbinding A weles blowing. No trains or steamboats going-- Yet Leontynes unpacking. In ter of the Negroes s in Lieder More than German ever bore, erday past grandpa-- Not of her own doing-- In a pot of collard greens Is gently stewing. Puss fold and unfold In a supermarket sea. And ter find out, mama, Since o Mount Vernon. In t begind the paper doors on tove ws cooking? s smelling, Leontyne? Lieder, lovely Lieder And a leaf of collard green. Lovely Lieder, Leontyne. You know, rig Cmas they asked me if my blackness, ould it rub off? I said, Ask your mama. Dreams and nightmares! Nightmares, dreams, oh! Dreaming t the Negroes Of taken over-- Voted all ts Rig of power-- Comes the COLORED hOUR: Martin Luther King is Governor of Georgia, Dr. Rufus Clement his Chief Adviser, A. Phy. In we pillared mansions Sitting on their wide verandas, ealte servants, e sations, And colored ce mammies: Mammy Faubus Mammy Eastland Mammy allace Dear, dear darling old we mammies-- Sometimes even buried h our family. Dear old Mammy Faubus! lt;igt;Culture, treet:lt;/igt; julep, mammny. hurry up! Make e! Daybreak in Alabama to be a composer Im gonna e me some music about Daybreak in Alabama And Im gonna put tiest songs in it Rising out of t And falling out of dew. Im gonna put some tall tall trees in it And t of pine needles And ter rain And long red necks And poppy colored faces And big brown arms And the field daisy eyes Of black and we black we black people And Im gonna put we hands And black hands and brown and yellow hands And red clay eart touch kind fingers And toucural as dew In t dawn of music when I Get to be a composer And e about daybreak In Alabama. Democracy Democracy come today, this year Nor ever through compromise and fear. I As ther fellow has to stand On my t And ohe land. I tire so of hearing people say, Let take their course. tomorroher day. I do not need my freedom when Im dead. I cannot live on tomorrows bread. Freedom Is a strong seed Planted In a great need. I live oo. I freedom Just as you. Dinner Guest: Me I know I am the Negro Problem Being wined and dined, Ansions t come to we mind hich seeks demurely to Probe in polite way thal Of darkness U.S.A.-- ondering this way In current democratic night, Murmuring gently Over fraises du bois, quot;Im so ase.quot; ter is delicious, the wine divine, And center of attention At table, mine. to be a Problem on Park Avenue at eight Is not so bad. Solutions to the Problem, Of course, . Dream Deferred o a dream deferred? Does it dry up Like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore-- And then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over-- like a syrupy s? Maybe it just sags like a heavy load. Or does it explode? Dream Variations to fling my arms wide In some place of the sun, to wo dance till te day is done. t at cool evening Beneatall tree comes on gently, Dark like me- t is my dream! to fling my arms wide In the sun, Dance! hirl! hirl! till the quick day is done. Rest at pale evening... A tall, slim tree... Nigenderly Black like me. Dreams to dreams For if dreams die Life is a broken-winged bird t cannot fly. to dreams For when dreams go Life is a barren field Frozen h snow. Ennui Its such a Bore Being always Poor. Freedoms Plow arts out hing, arts out h his hands Empty, but clean, arts to build a world, arts first h himself And t is in - trengthere, to build. First in t is the dream- tarts seeking a way. on the world, On t wooded world, On the world, On the world. terials for building, See ties, too, and tacles. to overcome tacles. tools to cut the wood, to till ters. to help, A community of o help- t one mans dream alone, But a community dream. Not my dream alone, but our dream. Not my world alone, But your world and my world, Belonging to all the hands who build. A long time ago, but not too long ago, She sea Bringing the Pilgrims and prayer-makers, Adventurers and booty seekers, Free men and indentured servants, Slave men and slave masters, all new- to a new world, America! ithe galleons came Bringing men and dreams, women and dreams. In little bands together, reac to , to hand, to build our land. Some were free hands Seeking a greater freedom, Some ured hands o find their freedom, Some were slave hands Guarding in ts the seed of freedom, But there always: Freedom. Down into the earth went the plow In the slave hands, In indentured urous hands, turning t the plow in many hands t planted and ed t fed And tton t clothed America. Clang against trees to many hands t ops of America. Splaso t t-hulls t moved and transported America. Crack t drove the horses Across the plains of America. Free hands and slave hands, Indentured urous hands, e hands and black hands he plow handles, Ax handles, hammer handles, Launcs and whe horses t fed and housed and moved America. togethrough labor, All these hands made America. Labor! Out of labor came villages And to greies. Labor! Out of labor came ts And ts and teamboats, Came the coaches, Covered age coaches, Out of labor came tories, Came the railroads. Came ts and markets, sores, Came ty products moulded, manufactured, Sold in shops, piled in warehouses, She wide world over: Out of labor-we hands and black hands- Came trengthe will, And to build America. No is Me here. Nos Mantan, Chicago, Seattle, New Orleans, Boston and El Paso- Nos the U.S.A. A long time ago, but not too long ago, a man said: ALL MEN ARE CREAtED EQUAL-- ENDOED BY tOR ItAIN UNALIENABLE RIGhtS-- AMONG tY AND t OF hAPPINESS. hen, But in ts too, And silently too for granted t hem. It ime ago, But not so long ago at t, Lincoln said: NO MAN IS GOOD ENOUGh tO GOVERN ANOthER MAN It t Ot. too, But in ts the slaves knew be meant for every human being- Else it had no meaning for anyone. then a man said: BEttER tO DIE FREE tO LIVE SLAVES he was a colored man who had been a slave But o freedom. And the slaves knew Frederick Douglass said rue. it harpers Ferry, Negroes died. John Brown was hung. Before the Civil ar, days were dark, And nobody knew for sure riumph quot;Or if it ; t some. But ot o triumph. In those dark days of slavery, Guarding in ts the seed of freedom, the slaves made up a song: Keep Your he Plow! hold On! t song meant just said: hold On! Freedom will come! Keep Your he Plow! hold On! Out of came, bloody and terrible! But it came! Some there were, as always, ed t t, t the slaves would be free, Or t tand, But no. Out of t days for people and a nation, e kno. t wtle clouds rolled away. t wooded land, And men united as a nation. America is a dream. t says it was promises. t is promises-t rue. t al loud, Nor e them down on paper. ten hold Great thoughts in their deepest hearts And sometimes only blunderingly express them, ingly and stumblingly say them, And faultily put to practice. t aland eacher. But there, Alrying to understand, And trying to say, quot;You are a man. toget; America! Land created in common, Dream nourished in common, Keep your he plow! hold on! If t yet finished, Dont be discouraged, builder! If t is not yet won, Dont be weary, soldier! ttern is here, oven from the beginning Into the warp and woof of America: ALL MEN ARE CREAtED EQUAL. NO MAN IS GOOD ENOUGh tO GOVERN ANOthER MAN It . BEttER DIE FREE, tO LIVE SLAVES. hings? Americans! hose words? America! ho is America? You, me! e are America! to t, e say, NO! to the enemy who would divide And conquer us from hin, e say, NO! FREEDOM! BROthERhOOD! DEMOCRACY! to all t words: e say, NO! A long time ago, An enslaved people oward freedom Made up a song: Keep Your he Plow! hold On! the plow plowed a new furrow Across tory. Into t furrohe freedom seed was dropped. From t seed a tree grew, is growing, will ever grow. t tree is for everybody, For all America, for all the world. May its branches spread and shelter grow Until all races and all peoples knos shade. KEEP YOUR hE PLO! hOLD ON! Submitted by Denice Jackson Freedoms Plow arts out hing, arts out h his hands Empty, but clean, arts to build a world, arts first h himself And t is in - trengthere, to build. First in t is the dream- tarts seeking a way. on the world, On t wooded world, On the world, On the world. terials for building, See ties, too, and tacles. to overcome tacles. tools to cut the wood, to till ters. to help, A community of o help- t one man’s dream alone, But a community dream. Not my dream alone, but our dream. Not my world alone, But your world and my world, Belonging to all the hands who build. A long time ago, but not too long ago, She sea Bringing the Pilgrims and prayer-makers, Adventurers and booty seekers, Free men and indentured servants, Slave men and slave masters, all new- to a new world, America! ithe galleons came Bringing men and dreams, women and dreams. In little bands together, reac to , to hand, to build our land. Some were free hands Seeking a greater freedom, Some ured hands o find their freedom, Some were slave hands Guarding in ts the seed of freedom, But there always: Freedom. I, Too I, too, sing America. I am ther. to eat in tchen hen company comes, But I laugh, And eat well, And grorong. tomorrow, Ill be at table hen company comes. Nobodyll dare Say to me, quot;Eat in tc; then. Besides, tiful I am And be ashamed-- I, too, am America. I, Too, Sing America I, too, sing America. I am ther. to eat in tchen hen company comes, But I laugh, And eat well, And grorong. tomorrow, Ill be at table hen company comes. Nobodyll dare Say to me, quot;Eat in tc; then. Besides, tiful I am And be ashamed-- I, too, am America. Jazzonia Oree! Ohe soul! In a Six long-headed jazzers play. A dancing girl whose eyes are bold Lifts high a dress of silken gold. Oree! Ohe soul! ere Eves eyes In t garden Just a bit too bold? as Cleopatra gorgeous In a gown of gold? Oree! Ohe soul! In a w Six long-headed jazzers play. Juke Box Love Song I could take t and wrap around you, take ts and make a crown, take the Lenox Avenue busses, taxis, subways, And for your love song tone their rumble down. take beat, Make a drumbeat, Put it on a record, let it whirl, And o it play, Dance ill day-- Dance brown harlem girl. Justice t Justice is a blind goddess Is a to which we black are wise: ering sores t once perhaps were eyes. Let America be America Again Let America be America again. Let it be t used to be. Let it be the plain Seeking a home where he himself is free. (America never o me.) Let America be the dreamers dreamed-- Let it be t great strong land of love yrants scheme t any man be crushed by one above. (It never o me.) O, let my land be a land wy Is croriotic h, But opportunity is real, and life is free, Equality is in the. (ty for me, Nor freedom in t;;) Say, he dark? And ars? I am te, fooled and pus, I am the Negro bearing slaverys scars. I am the land, I am t clutche hope I seek-- And finding only tupid plan Of dog eat dog, of mighe weak. I am trength and hope, tangled in t ancient endless chain Of profit, pohe land! Of grab tisfying need! Of ake the pay! Of ohing for ones own greed! I am to the soil. I am to the machine. I am t to you all. I am the people, humble, hungry, mean-- today despite the dream. Beaten yet today--O, Pioneers! I am t ahead, t ered the years. Yet Im t our basic dream In till a serf of kings, a dream so strong, so brave, so true, t even yet its mighty daring sings In every brick and stone, in every furrow turned In every brick and stone, in every furrourned ts made America t has become. O, Im those early seas In searc I meant to be my home-- For Im t dark Irelands shore, And Polands plain, and Englands grassy lea, And torn from Black Africas strand I came to build a quot;; the free? me? Surely not me? today? t down wrike? thing for our pay? For all the dreams weve dreamed And all the songs weve sung And all the hopes weve held And all the flags weve hung, thing for our pay-- Except ts almost dead today. O, let America be America again-- t never -- And yet must be--the land where every man is free. ts mine--the poor mans, Indians, Negros, ME-- ho made America, and blood, wh and pain, the rain, Must bring back our mighty dream again. Sure, call me any ugly name you choose-- teel of freedom does not stain. From the peoples lives, e must take back our land again, America! O, yes, I say it plain, America never o me, And yet I sh-- America will be! Out of ter death, t of graft, and stealth, and lies, e, t redeem ts, the rivers. tains and the endless plain-- All, all tretc green states-- And make America again! Life Is Fine I doo the river, I set dohe bank. I tried to t couldnt, So I jumped in and sank. I came up once and hollered! I came up twice and cried! If t er a-been so cold I mightve sunk and died. But it er! It was cold! I took tor Sixteen floors above the ground. I t about my baby And t I would jump down. I stood there and I hollered! I stood there and I cried! If it a-been so high I mightve jumped and died. But it was was high! So since Im still here livin, I guess I will live on. I couldve died for love-- But for livin I was born though you may hear me holler, And you may see me cry-- Ill be dogged, s baby, If you gonna see me die. Life is fine! Fine as wine! Life is fine! Love Song for Lucinda Love Is a ripe plum Groree. taste it once And ts encment ill never let you be. Love Is a brigar Glohern skies. Look too hard And its burning flame ill always your eyes. Love Is a ain Stark in a windy sky. If you ould never lose your breath Do not climb too high. Madam and Her Madam I worked for a woman, S mean-- But swelve-room o clean. o get breakfast, Dinner, and supper, too-- take care of her children through. ash, iron, and scrub, alk the dog around-- It oo much, Nearly broke me down. I said, Madam, Can it be You trying to make a Pack- of me? Sh. She cried, Oh, no! You knoa, I love you so! I said, Madam, t may be true-- But Ill be dogged If I love you! Madam and the Phone Bill You say I O.K.ed LONG DIStANCE? O.K.ed it when? My goodness, Central t hen! Im mad and disgusted it Negro now. I dont pay no REVERSED ChARGES nohow. You say, I -- Else youll take out my phone? You better let My phone alone. I didnt ask him to telephone me. Roscoe knows darn well LONG DIStANCE Aint free. If I ever catch him, Lawd, y! Calling me up From Kansas City. Just to say he loves me! I kno was so. ell me somen I dont know? For instance, w can ther girls do t Alberta K. Johnson Cant do--and more, too? s t, Central? You say you dont care Not my Private affair? ell, even less about your PhONE BILL, does I care! Un-humm-m! . . . Yes! You say I gave my O.K.? ell, t O.K. you may keep-- But I sure aint gonna pay! Merry-Go-Round ion On this merry-go-round, Mister, cause I to ride? Doh where I come from e and colored Cant sit side by side. Dorain theres a Jim Crow car. On t in the back— But t no back to a merry-go-round! he horse For a kid ts black? Minstrel Man Because my mouth Is er And my t Is deep h song, You do not think I suffer after I have held my pain So long? Because my mouth Is er, You do not hear My inner cry? Because my feet Are gay h dancing, You do not know I die? Mother to Son ell, son, Ill tell you: Life for me aint been no crystal stair. Its acks in it, And splinters, And boards torn up, And places on the floor— Bare. But all time Ise been a-climbin on, And reachin landins, And turnin corners, And sometimes goin in the dark been no light. So, boy, dont you turn back. Dont you set doeps. Cause you finds its kinder hard. Dont you fall now— For Ise still goin, honey, Ise still climbin, And life for me aint been no crystal stair. My People t is beautiful, So the faces of my people. tars are beautiful, So the eyes of my people. Beautiful, also, is the sun. Beautiful, also, are the souls of my people. Negro Speaks of Rivers Ive known rivers: Ive kno as the flow of human blood in human rivers My soul he rivers. I bates when dawns were young I built my near t lulled me to sleep. I looked upon t. I he Mississippi when Abe Lincoln doo Nes muddy bosom turn all golden in t Ive known rivers: Ancient, dusky rivers. My soul he rivers. Night Funeral in Harlem Night funeral In harlem: two fine cars? Insurance man, pay-- her day-- Yet t a satin box for o lay. Night funeral In harlem: sent t h of flowers? them flowers came from t poor boys friends-- t flooo, their ends. Night funeral in harlem: Black boy to his grave? Old preacher man Preac boy away-- Charged Five Dollars o pay. Night funeral In harlem: was all over And t on his head and the organ had done played and t prayers been said and six pallbearers Carried for dead And off down Lenox Avenue t long black hearse done sped, treet light At his corner S like a tear-- t boy t they was mournin as so dear, so dear to t broughe flowers, to t girl whe preacher man-- It ears t made That poor boys Funeral grand. Night funeral In harlem. Oppression Now dreams Are not available to the dreamers, Nor songs to the singers. In some lands Dark night And cold steel Prevail But the dream ill come back, And the song Break Its jail. Po Boy Blues hen I was home de Sunshine seemed like gold. hen I was home de Sunshine seemed like gold. Since I come up North de urned cold. I was a good boy, Never done no wrong. Yes, I was a good boy, Never done no wrong, But this world is weary An de road is hard an long. I fell in love h A gal I t was kind. Fell in love h A gal I t was kind. She made me lose ma money An almost lose ma mind. eary, weary, eary early in de morn. eary, weary, Early, early in de morn. Is so weary I wish Id never been born. Problems 2 and 2 are 4. 4 and 4 are 8. But w would happen If t 4 e? And be If one 2 was me? Or if t 4 was you Divided by 2? Quiet Girl I would liken you to a nig stars ere it not for your eyes. I would liken you to a sleep dreams ere it not for your songs. Sea Calm ill, rangely still ter is today, It is not good For er to be so still t way. Still Here been scared and battered. My tered. Snow has friz me, Sun has baked me, Looks like bethey done tried to make me Stop laugop lovin, stop livin-- But I dont care! Im still here! The Blues rings break On both your shoes And youre in a hurry- ts the blues. o buy a candy bar And youve lost the dime you had- Slipped t somewhere- ts too, and bad! Submitted by Denice Jackson The Dream Keeper Bring me all of your dreams, You dreamer, Bring me all your melodies t I may hem In a blue cloud-cloth Aoo-rough fingers Of the world. The Negro Mother Coday to tell you a story of the long dark way t I o climb, t I o know In order t t live and grow. Look at my face -- dark as t -- Yet srue light. I am the red sea Carrying in my body the free. I am the field Bringing tton and to yield. I am the one who labored as a slave, Beaten and mistreated for t I gave -- Coo. No safety , no love, no respect was I due. t South: But God put a song and a prayer in my mouth . God put a dream like steel in my soul. Nohe goal. Nohrough my children, young and free, I realized to me. I couldnt read t e. I . Sometimes, tears, But I kept trudging on the lonely years. Sometimes, t he sun, But I o keep on till my work was done: I o keep on! No stopping for me -- I he coming Free. I nouris nother Deep in my breast -- ther. I nohrough you, Dark ones of today, my dreams must come true: All you dark c there, Remember my s, my pain, my despair. Remember my years, h sorrow -- And make of torcomorrow. Make of my pass a road to t Out of t. Lift of t. Stand like free men supporting my trust. Believe in t, let none push you back. Remember track. Remember rong in struggle and strife Still bar you the way, and deny you life -- But march ever forward, breaking down bars. Look ever up tars. Oh, my dark children, may my dreams and my prayers Impel you forever up t stairs -- For I ill no her Dares keep doher. The Negro Speaks Of Rivers Ive known rivers: Ive kno as the flow of human blood in human veins. My soul he rivers. I bates when dawns were young. I built my near t lulled me to sleep. I looked upon t. I he Mississippi when Abe Lincoln doo Nes muddy bosom turn all golden in t. Ive known rivers: Ancient, dusky rivers. My soul he rivers. The Weary Blues Droning a droed tune, Rocking back and forto a mellow croon, I heard a Negro play. Do By t he did a lazy sway .... he did a lazy sway .... to tune o those eary Blues. ith his ebony hands on each ivory key poor piano moan h melody. O Blues! So and fro on y stool sad raggy tune like a musical fool. S Blues! Coming from a black mans soul. O Blues! In a deep song voice one I Negro sing, t old piano moan-- quot;Aint got nobody in all this world, Aint got nobody but ma self. Is go quit ma frownin And put ma troubles on t; t on the floor. hen he sang some more-- quot;I got the eary Blues And I cant be satisfied. Got the eary Blues And cant be satisfied-- I aint happy no mo And I wis I ; And far into t tune. tars out and so did the moon. topped playing and to bed hrough his head. like a rock or a man ts dead. Theme for English B tructor said, Go e a page tonight. And let t page come out of you-- t rue. I s t simple? I am ty-ton-Salem. I to schen here to the hill above harlem. I am tudent in my class. teps from to harlem, t. Nicholas, Eigo the Y, take tor up to my room, sit doe this page: Its not easy to knorue for you or me at ty-t I guess Im w I feel and see and hear, harlem, I hear you: alk on this page. (I oo.) Me--who? ell, I like to eat, sleep, drink, and be in love. I like to and life. I like a pipe for a Cmas present, or records--Bessie, bop, or Bach. I guess being colored doesnt make me not like ther races. So I e? Being me, it be we. But it will be a part of you, instructor. You are we-- yet a part of me, as I am a part of you. ts American. Sometimes per to be a part of me. Nor do I often to be a part of you. But s true! As I learn from you, I guess you learn from me-- alte-- and somew more free. this is my page for English B. Wake tell all my mourners to mourn in red -- Cause t no sense In my bein dead. Walkers with the Dawn Being he dawn and morning, alkers he sun and morning, e are not afraid of night, Nor days of gloom, Nor darkness-- Being he sun and morning. Will V-Day Be Me-Day Too? Over there, orld ar II. Dear Fellow Americans, I e tter imes ter his war Is through. Im a tan-skinned Yank Driving a tank. I ask, ILL V-DAY BE ME-DAY, tOO? I wear a U. S. uniform. Ive done the enemy much harm, Ive driven back the Japs, From Burma to the Rhine. On every battle line, Ive dropped defeat Into ts laps. I am a Negro American Out to defend my land Army, Navy, Air Corps-- I am there. I take munitions through, I figevedore, too. I face deathe same as you do Everywhere. Ive seen my buddy lying here he fell. Ive ched him dying I promised I ry to make our land a land here his son could be a man-- And thered be no Jim Crow birds Left in our sky. So t I to know: orys glow, ill you still let old Jim Crow hold me back? ed-- Italians, Ced. ill I still be ill-fated Because Im black? ive land, ill till stand? ill Dixie lyncill urn? Or will you comrades in arms From tories and the farms, this war as fougo learn? ake off my uniform, ill I be safe from harm-- Or will you do me As the Jews? o save, Sill be colors slave? Or ory change Your antiquated views? You cant say I didnt fight to smass might. You cant say I h you in eactle. As a soldier, and a friend. o an end, ill you herd me in a Jim Crow car Like cattle? Or and up like a man At ake your stand For Democracy? ts all I ask of you. he guns away to celebrate Our Victory Day ILL V-DAY BE ME-DAY, tOO? ts to know. Sincerely, GI Joe. 黑人 我是黑人 像黑夜一样黑， 像我的非洲腹地一样黑。 我是奴隶： 凯撒要我洗大门。 华盛顿让我擦靴子。 我是工人： 金字塔在我手下升起。 我给伍尔窝斯大楼拌灰泥。 我是歌手： 打非洲来到乔治亚一路带来悲伤的歌。 我演出爵士乐。 我是牺牲者： 比利时人在刚果剁断我的手。 现在我在得克萨斯受私刑。 我是黑人 像黑夜一样黑， 像我的非洲腹地一样黑。 1926 黑人谈河 我了解河流， 我了解河流和世界一样古老，比人类血管中的血流还要古老。 我的灵魂与河流一样深沉。 当朝霞初升，我沐浴在幼发拉底斯河。 我在刚果河旁搭茅棚，波声催我入睡。 我俯视着尼罗河，建起了金字塔。 当阿伯。林肯南下新奥尔良，我听到密西西比河在歌唱，我看到河流混浊的胸脯 被落日染得一江金黄。 我了解河流， 古老的，幽暗的河流。 我的灵魂与河流一样深沉。 1926 短暂的爱情 因为你是我的一支歌， 我唱你不能太久太多。 因为你是我的一番祈祷， 我不能到处把你絮叨。 因为你是我的一朵玫瑰， 盛夏之后你将一去不回。 申奥译 爱的原因 正因为我爱你—— 就是这个原因 我的灵魂象蝴蝶翅膀一样 五彩缤纷。 正因为我爱你—— 就是这个原因 当你走过时 我的心象白杨叶一样颤震。 申奥译