''“Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby.” ''
''“Cheap little rhymes A cheap little tune Are sometimes as dangerous As a sliver of the moon.” ''
''here to this college on the hill above Harlem I am the only colored student in my class.''
''I've known rivers: Ancient, dusky rivers. My soul has grown deep like the rivers.''
''Droning a drowsy syncopated tune, Rocking back and forth to a mellow croon, I heard a Negro play. Down on Lenox Avenue the other night By the pale dull pallor of an old gas light''
'' “When a man starts out to build a world, He starts first with himself” ''
''“Believing everything she read In the daily news, (No in-between to choose) She thought that only One side won, Not that BOTH Might lose.” ''
''“Ive known rivers: Ive known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins. My soul has grown deep like the rivers.” ''
''“Good morning, Revolution: Youre the very best friend I ever had. We gonna pal around together from now on” ''
''While over Alabama earth These words are gently spoken: Serve—and hate will die unborn. Love—and chains are broken.''
''So will my page be colored that I write? Being me, it will not be white. But it will be a part of you, instructor. You are white— yet a part of me, as I am a part of you.''
''“Gather out of star-dust, Earth-dust, Cloud-dust, Storm-dust, And splinters of hail, One handful of dream-dust, Not for sale.” ''
''“So since Im still here livin, I guess I will live on. I couldve died for love-- But for livin I was born.”''
''“Humor is laughing at what you havent got when you ought to have it.” ''
''I, too, sing America. I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen when company comes. But I laugh, And eat well, And grow strong.''
''Love is a naked shadow On a gnarled and naked tree.''
''Hold fast to dreams For if dreams die Life is a broken-winged bird That cannot fly.''
''Maybe it just sags like a heavy load. Or does it explode?''
''They'll see how beautiful I am And be ashamed— I, too, am America.''
''“Life doesnt frighten me at all.” ''
''I could take the Harlem night and wrap around you, Take the neon lights and make a crown, Take the Lenox Avenue buses, Taxis, subways, And for your love song tone their rumble down.''
''“I loved my friend He went away from me Theres nothing more to say The poem ends, Soft as it began- I loved my friend.” ''
''“I, too, sing America. I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen When company comes, But I laugh, And eat well, And grow strong. Tomorrow, Ill be at the table When company comes. Nobodyll dare Say to me, "Eat in the kitchen," Then. Besides, Theyll see how beautiful I am And be ashamed-- I, too, am America.” ''
''The singer stopped playing and went to bed While the Weary Blues echoed through his head. He slept like a rock or a man that's dead.''
''I, too, sing America. I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen When company comes,''
''“I swear to the Lord,I still cant see,Why Democracy means,Everybody but me. ” ''
''Night coming tenderly Black like me.''
''“I went down to the river, I set down on the bank. I tried to think but couldnt, So I jumped in and sank.” ''
''“Folks, Im telling you, birthing is hard and dying is mean- so get yourself a little loving in between.” ''
''What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?''
''“...the only way to get a thing done is to start to do it, then keep on doing it, and finally youll finish it,....” ''
''As I learn from you, I guess you learn from me— although you're older—and white— and somewhat more free. This is my page for English B.''
''Brown sugar lassie, Caramel treat, Honey-gold baby Sweet enough to eat. Peach-skinned girlie,''
''Way Down South in Dixie (Break the heart of me) They hung my black young lover To a cross roads tree.''
''“I tire so of hearing people say, Let things take their course. Tomorrow is another day. I do not need my freedom when Im dead. I cannot live on tomorrows bread.” ''
''I was so sick last night I Didn't hardly know my mind. So sick last night I Didn't know my mind. I drunk some bad licker that Almost made me blind.''
''“Oh, God of Dust and Rainbows, Help us to see That without the dust the rainbow Would not be.”''
''“Out of love, No regrets-- Though the goodness Be wasted forever. Out of love, No regrets-- Though the return Be never.” ''
''“Harlem What happens to 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 sweet? Maybe it just sags like a heavy load. Or does it explode?” ''
''“I have discovered in life that there are ways of getting almost anywhere you want to go, if you really want to go.”''
''“Life is for the living. Death is for the dead. Let life be like music. And death a note unsaid.” ''
''“An artist must be free to choose what he does, certainly, but he must also never be afraid to do what he might choose” ''
''“To some people Love is given, To others Only Heaven.” ''
''“Though you may hear me holler, And you may see me cry-- Ill be dogged, sweet baby, If you gonna see me die.”''
''“When peoples care for you and cry for you, they can straighten out your soul.” ''
''“Hold fast to dreams for if dreams die life is a broken-winged bird that can not fly. Hold fast to dreams for when dreams go life is a barren field frozen with snow.” ''
''The rain makes still pools on the sidewalk. The rain makes running pools in the gutter. The rain plays a little sleep-song on our roof at night—''
''Clean the spittoons. The steam in hotel kitchens, And the smoke in hotel lobbies, And the slime in hotel spittoons: Part of my life.''
''I swear to the Lord I still can't see Why Democracy means Everybody but me.''
''“Sometimes a crumb falls From the tables of joy, Sometimes a bone Is flung. To some people Love is given, To others Only heaven.” ''
''“Looks like what drives me crazy Dont have no effect on you-- But Im gonna keep on at it Till it drives you crazy, too.” ''
''“I stay cool, and dig all jive, Thats the way I stay alive. My motto, as I live and learn, is Dig and be dug In return.”''
''Babies and gin and church And women and Sunday All mixed with dimes and Dollars and clean spittoons And house rent to pay.''
''“Well, I like to eat, sleep, drink, and be in love. I like to work, read, learn, and understand life.”''
''“I asked you, baby, If you understood- You told me that you didnt, But you thought you would.” ''
''“Yet the ivory gods, And the ebony gods, And the gods of diamond-jade, Are only silly puppet gods That people themselves Have made.-” ''
''“How still, How strangely still The water is today, It is not good For water To be so still that way. ~ "Sea Calm” ''
''“The calm, Cool face of the river, Asked me for a kiss”''
