CONTENTS
AFRO-AMERICAN FRAGMENTS
Afro-American Fragment **
The Negro Speaks of Rivers ***
Sun Song *
Aunt Sue's Stories **
Danse Africaine **
Negro ***
American Heartbreak *
October 16 **
As I Grew Older **
My People **
Dream Variations **
FEET OF JESUS
Feet o ' Jesus *
Prayer
Shout
Fire *
Sunday Morning Prophecy ***
Sinner
Litany *
Angels Wings **
Judgment Day **
Prayer Meeting
Spirituals **
Tambourines
SHADOW OF THE BLUES
The Weary Blues ***
Hope **
Late Last Night **
Bad Morning *
Sylvester 's Dying Bed **
Wake **
Could Be
Bad Luck Card *
Reverie on the Harlem River *
Morning After **
Early Evening Quarrel ***
Evil *
As Befits a Man **
SEA AND LAND
Havana Dreams **
Catch ***
Water-Front Streets **
Long Trip **
Seascape
Moonlight Night: Carmel **
Heaven ***
In Time of Silver Rain
Joy **
Winter Moon
Snail
March Moon **
Harlem Night Song
To Artina ***
Fulfilment ***
Gypsy Melodies *
Mexican Market Woman *
A Black Pierrot **
Ardella **
When Sue Wears Red **
Love ***
Beale Street **
Port Town *
Natcha **
Young Sailor ***
Sea Calm *
Dream Dust *
No Regrets
Troubled Woman *
Island *
DISTANCE NOWHERE
Border Line **
Garden *
Genius Child **
Strange Hurt ***
Suicide 's Note **
End ***
Drum ***
Personal **
Juliet *
Desire ***
Vagabonds **
One
Desert
A House in Taos ***
Demand ***
Dream *
Night: Four Songs
Luck *
Old Walt **
Kid in the Park *
Song for Billie Holiday **
Fantasy in Purple **
AFTER HOURS
Midnight Raffle **
What?
Gone Boy *
50–50 **
Maybe
Lover's Return ***
Miss Blues'es Child **
Trumpet Player ***
Monroe's Blues
Stony Lonesome **
Black Maria *
LIFE IS FINE
Life Is Fine ****
Still Here ***
Ballad of the Gypsy **
Me and the Mule ***
Kid Sleepy **
Little Lyric **
Fired **
Midnight Dancer ***
Blue Monday **
Ennui ***
Mama and Daughter **
Delinquent ***
Homecoming **
Final Curve ***
Little Green Tree **
Crossing **
Widow Woman ***
LAMENT OVER LOVE
Misery
Ballad of the Fortune Teller
Cora
Down and Out
Young Gal 's Blues
Ballad of the Girl Whose Name Is Mud
Hard Daddy
Midwinter Blues
Little Old Letter
Lament over Love
MAGNOLIA FLOWERS
Daybreak in Alabama
Cross
Magnolia Flowers
Mulatto
Southern Mammy Sings
Ku Klux
West Texas
Share-Croppers
Ruby Brown
Roland Hayes Beaten
Uncle Tom
Porter
Blue Bayou
Silhouette
Song for a Dark Girl
The South
Bound No 'th Blues
One-Way Ticket
Migrant
NAME IN UPHILL LETTERS
Summer Evening
Graduation
Interne at Provident
Railroad Avenue
Mother to Son
Stars
To Be Somebody
Note on Commercial Theatre
Puzzled
Seashore through Dark Glasses
Baby
Merry-Go-Round
Elevator Boy
Who But the Lord?
Third Degree
Ballad of the Man Who 's Gone
MADAM TO YOU
Madam's Past History
Madam and Her Madam
Madam's Calling Cards
Madam and the Rent Man
Madam and the Number Writer
Madam and the Phone Bill
Madam and the Charity Child
Madam and the Fortune Teller
Madam and the Wrong Visitor
Madam and the Minister
Madam and Her Might-Have-Been
Madam and the Census Man
MONTAGE OF A DREAM DEFERRED
Montage of a Dream Deferred
WORDS LIKE FREEDOM
I, Too
Freedom Train
Georgia Dusk
Lunch in a Jim Crow Car
In Explanation of Our Times
Africa
Democracy
Consider Me
The Negro Mother
Refugee in America
Freedom 's Plow
AFRO-AMERICAN FRAGMENTS
Afro-American Fragment
So long,
So far away
Is Africa.
Not even memories alive
Save those that history books create,
Save those that songs
Beat back into the blood—
Beat out of blood with words sad-sung
In strange un-Negro tongue—
So long,
So far away
Is Africa.
Subdued and time-lost
Are the drums—and yet
Through some vast mist of race
There comes this song
I do not understand,
This song of atavistic land,
Of bitter yearnings lost
Without a place—
So long,
So far away
Is Africa's
Dark face.
The Negro Speaks of Rivers
I've known rivers:
I've 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.
I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young.
I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep.
I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it.
I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln went down to New
Orleans, and I've seen its muddy bosom turn all golden in the sunset.
I've known rivers:
Ancient, dusky rivers.
My soul has grown deep like the rivers.
Sun Song
Sun and softness,
Sun and the beaten hardness of the earth,
Sun and the song of all the sun-stars
Gathered together—
Dark ones of Africa,
I bring you my songs
To sing on the Georgia roads.
Aunt Sue's Stories
Aunt Sue has a head full of stories.
Aunt Sue has a whole heart full of stories.
Summer nights on the front porch
Aunt Sue cuddles a brown-faced child to her bosom And tells him stories.
Black slaves
Working in the hot sun,
And black slaves
Walking in the dewy night,
And black slaves
Singing sorrow songs on the banks of a mighty river Mingle themselves softly
In the flow of old Aunt Sue's voice,
Mingle themselves softly
In the dark shadows that cross and recross
Aunt Sue's stories.
And the dark-faced child, listening,
Knows that Aunt Sue's stories are real stories.
He knows that Aunt Sue never got her stories Out of any book at all,
But that they came
Right out of her own life.
The dark-faced child is quiet
Of a summer night
Listening to Aunt Sue's stories.
Danse Africaine
The low beating of the tom-toms,
The slow beating of the tom-toms,
Low … slow
Slow … low—
Stirs your blood.
Dance!
A night-veiled girl
Whirls softly into a
Circle of light.
Whirls softly … slowly,
Like a wisp of smoke around the fire—
And the tom-toms beat,
And the tom-toms beat,
And the low beating of the tom-toms
Stirs your blood.
Negro
I am a Negro:
Black as the night is black,
Black like the depths of my Africa.
I've been a slave:
Caesar told me to keep his doorsteps clean.
I brushed the boots of Washington.
I've been a worker:
Under my hand the pyramids arose.
I made mortar for the Woolworth Building.
I've been a singer:
All the way from Africa to Georgia
I carried my sorrow songs.
I made ragtime.
I've been a victim:
The Belgians cut off my hands in the Congo.
They lynch me still in Mississippi.
I am a Negro:
Black as the night is black,
Black like the depths of my Africa.
American Heartbreak
I am the American heartbreak—
Rock on which Freedom
Stumps its toe—
The great mistake
That Jamestown
Made long ago.
October 16
Perhaps
You will remember
John Brown.
John Brown
Who took his gun,
Took twenty-one companions
White and black,
Went to shoot your way to freedom
Where two rivers meet
And the hills of the
North
And the hills of the
South
Look slow at one another—
And died
For your sake.
Now that you are
Many years free,
And the echo of the Civil War
Has passed away,
And Brown himself
Has long been tried at law,
Hanged by the neck,
And buried in the ground—
Since Harpers Ferry
Is alive with ghosts today,
Immortal raiders
Come again to town—
Perhaps
You will recall
John Brown.
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 slowly, slowly,
Dimming,
Hiding,
The light of 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!
My People
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.
Beautiful, also, are the souls of my people.
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.
FEET OF JESUS
Feet o' Jesus
At the feet o' Jesus,
Sorrow like a sea.
Lordy, let yo' mercy
Come driftin' down on me.
At the feet o' Jesus
At yo' feet I stand.
O, ma little Jesus,
Please reach out yo' hand.
Prayer
I ask you this:
Which way to go?
I ask you this:
Which sin to bear?
Which crown to put
Upon my hair?
I do not know,
Lord God,
I do not know.
Shout
Listen to yo' prophets,
Little Jesus!
Listen to yo' saints!
Fire
Fire,
Fire, Lord!
Fire gonna burn ma soul!
I ain't been good,
I ain't been clean—
I been stinkin', low-down, mean.
Fire,
Fire, Lord!
Fire gonna burn ma soul!
Tell me, brother,
Do you believe
If you wanta go to heaben
Got to moan an' grieve?
Fire,
Fire, Lord!
Fire gonna burn ma soul!
I been stealin',
Been tellin' lies,
Had more women
Than Pharaoh had wives.
Fire,
Fire, Lord!
Fire gonna burn ma soul!
I means Fire, Lord!
Fire gonna burn ma soul!
Sunday Morning Prophecy
An old Negro minister concludes his sermon in his loudest voice, having
previously pointed out the sins of this world:
… and now
When the rumble of death
Rushes down the drain
Pipe of eternity,
And hell breaks out
Into a thousand smiles,
And the devil licks his chops
Preparing to feast on life,
And all the little devils
Get out their bibs
To devour the corrupt bones
Of this world—
Oh-ooo-oo-o!
Then my friends!
Oh, then! Oh, then!
What will you do?
You will turn back
And look toward the mountains.
You will turn back
And grasp for a straw.
You will holler,
Lord-d-d-d-d-ah!
Save me, Lord!
Save me!
And the Lord will say,
In the days of your greatness I did not hear your voice!
The Lord will say,
In the days of your richness I did not see your face!
The Lord will say,
No-oooo-ooo-oo-o!
I will not save you now!
And your soul
Will be lost!
Come into the church this morning,
Brothers and Sisters,
And be saved—
And give freely
In the collection basket
That I who am thy shepherd
Might live.
Amen!
Sinner
Have mercy, Lord!
Po' an' black
An' humble an' lonesome
An' a sinner in yo' sight.
Have mercy, Lord!
Litany
Gather up
In the arms of your pity
The sick, the depraved,
The desperate, the tired,
All the scum
Of our weary city
Gather up
In the arms of your pity.
Gather up
In the arms of your love—
Those who expect
No love from above.
Angels Wings
The angels wings is white as snow,
O, white as snow,
White
as
snow.
The angels wings is white as snow,
But I drug ma wings
In the dirty mire.
O, I drug ma wings
All through the fire.
But the angels wings is white as snow,
White
as
snow.
Judgment Day
They put ma body in the ground,
Ma soul went flyin' o' the town,
Went flyin' to the stars an' moon
A-shoutin', God, I's comin' soon.
O Jesus!
Lord in heaven,
Crown on His head,
Says don't be 'fraid
Cause you ain't dead.
Kind Jesus!
An' now I'm settin' clean an' bright
In the sweet o' ma Lord's sight—
Clean an' bright,
Clean an' bright.
Prayer Meeting
Glory! Hallelujah!
The dawn's a-comin'!
Glory! Hallelujah!
The dawn's a-comin'!
A black old woman croons
In the amen-corner of the
Ebecaneezer Baptist Church.
A black old woman croons—
The dawn's a-comin'!
Spirituals
Rocks and the firm roots of trees.
The rising shafts of mountains.
Something strong to put my hands on.
Sing, O Lord Jesus!
Song is a strong thing.
I heard my mother singing
When life hurt her:
Gonna ride in my chariot some day!
The branches rise
From the firm roots of trees.
The mountains rise
From the solid lap of earth.
The waves rise
From the dead weight of sea.
Sing, O black mother!
Song is a strong thing.
Tambourines
Tambourines!
Tambourines!
Tambourines
To the glory of God!
Tambourines
To glory!
A gospel shout
And a gospel song:
Life is short
But God is long!
Tambourines!
Tambourines!
Tambourines
To glory!
SHADOW OF THE BLUES
The Weary Blues
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
He did a lazy sway.…
He did a lazy sway.…
To the tune o' those Weary Blues.
With his ebony hands on each ivory key
He made that poor piano moan with melody.
O Blues!
Swaying to and fro on his rickety stool
He played that sad raggy tune like a musical fool.
Sweet Blues!
Coming from a black man's soul.
O Blues!
In a deep song voice with a melancholy tone
I heard that Negro sing, that old piano moan— "Ain't got nobody in all this
world,
Ain't got nobody but ma self.
I's gwine to quit ma frownin'
And put ma troubles on the shelf."
Thump, thump, thump, went his foot on the floor.
He played a few chords then he sang some more— "I got the Weary Blues
And I can't be satisfied.
Got the Weary Blues
And can't be satisfied—
I ain't happy no mo'
And I wish that I had died."
And far into the night he crooned that tune.
The stars went out and so did the moon.
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.
He slept like a rock or a man that's dead.
Hope
Sometimes when I'm lonely,
Don't know why,
Keep thinkin' I won't be lonely
By and by.
Late Last Night
Late last night I
Set on my steps and cried.
Wasn't nobody gone,
Neither had nobody died.
I was cryin'
Cause you broke my heart in two.
You looked at me cross-eyed
And broke my heart in two—
So I was cryin'
On account of
You!
Bad Morning
Here I sit
With my shoes mismated.
Lawdy-mercy!
I's frustrated!
Sylvester's Dying Bed
I woke up this mornin'
'Bout half-past three.
All the womens in town
Was gathered round me.
Sweet gals was a-moanin',
"Sylvester's gonna die!"
And a hundred pretty mamas
Bowed their heads to cry.
I woke up little later
'Bout half-past fo',
The doctor ‘n' undertaker's
Both at ma do'.
Black gals was a-beggin',
"You can't leave us here!"
Brown-skins cryin', "Daddy!
Honey! Baby! Don't go, dear!"
But I felt ma time's a-comin',
And I know'd I's dyin' fast.
I seed the River Jerden
A-creepin' muddy past—
But I's still Sweet Papa 'Vester,
Yes, sir! Long as life do last!
So I hollers, "Com'ere, babies,
Fo' to love yo' daddy right!"
And I reaches up to hug 'em—
When the Lawd put out the light.
Then everything was darkness
In a great … big … night.
Wake
Tell all my mourners
To mourn in red—
Cause there ain't no sense
In my bein' dead.
Could Be
Could be Hastings Street,
Or Lenox Avenue,
Could be 18th & Vine
And still be true.
Could be 5th & Mound,
Could be Rampart:
When you pawned my watch
You pawned my heart.
Could be you love me,
Could be that you don't.
Might be that you'll come back,
Like as not you won't.
Hastings Street is weary,
Also Lenox Avenue.
Any place is dreary
Without my watch and you.
Bad Luck Card
Cause you don't love me
Is awful, awful hard.
Gypsy done showed me
My bad luck card.
There ain't no good left
In this world for me.
Gypsy done tole me—
Unlucky as can be.
I don't know what
Po' weary me can do.
Gypsy says I'd kill my self
If I was you.
Reverie on the Harlem River
Did you ever go down to the river—
Two a.m. midnight by your self?
Sit down by the river
And wonder what you got left?
Did you ever think about your mother?
God bless her, dead and gone!
Did you ever think about your sweetheart
And wish she'd never been born?
Down on the Harlem River:
Two a.m.
Midnight!
By your self!
Lawd, I wish I could die—
But who would miss me if I left?
Morning After
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.
Had a dream last night I
Thought I was in hell.
I drempt last night I
Thought I was in hell.
Woke up and looked around me—
Babe, your mouth was open like a well.
I said, Baby! Baby!
Please don't snore so loud.
Baby! Please!
Please don't snore so loud.
You jest a little bit o' woman but you
Sound like a great big crowd.
Early Evening Quarrel
Where is that sugar, Hammond,
I sent you this morning to buy?
I say, where is that sugar
I sent you this morning to buy?
Coffee without sugar
Makes a good woman cry.
I ain't got no sugar, Hattie, I gambled your dime away.
Ain't got no sugar, I Done gambled that dime away.
If yous a wise woman, Hattie, You ain't gonna have nothin to say.
I ain't no wise woman, Hammond.
I am evil and mad.
Ain't no sense in a good woman
Bein treated so bad.
I don't treat you bad, Hattie, Neither does I treat you good.
But I reckon I could treat you Worser if I would.
Lawd, these things we women
Have to stand!
I wonder is there nowhere a
Do-right man?
Evil
Looks like what drives me crazy
Don't have no effect on you—
But I'm gonna keep on at it
Till it drives you crazy, too.
As Befits a Man
I don't mind dying—
But I'd hate to die all alone!
I want a dozen pretty women
To holler, cry, and moan.
I don't mind dying
But I want my funeral to be fine:
A row of long tall mamas
Fainting, fanning, and crying.
I want a fish-tail hearse
And sixteen fish-tail cars,
A big brass band
And a whole truck load of flowers.
When they let me down,
Down into the clay,
I want the women to holler:
Please don't take him away!
Ow-ooo-oo-o!
Don't take daddy away!
SEA AND LAND
Havana Dreams
The dream is a cocktail at Sloppy Joe's—
(Maybe—nobody knows.)
The dream is the road to Batabano.
(But nobody knows if that is so.)
Perhaps the dream is only her face—
Perhaps it's a fan of silver lace—
Or maybe the dream's a Vedado rose—
(Quien sabe? Who really knows?)
Catch
Big Boy came
Carrying a mermaid
On his shoulders
And the mermaid
Had her tail
Curved
Beneath his arm.
Being a fisher boy,
He'd found a fish
To carry—
Half fish,
Half girl
To marry.
Water-Front Streets
The spring is not so beautiful there—
But dream ships sail away
To where the spring is wondrous rare
And life is gay.
The spring is not so beautiful there—
But lads put out to sea
Who carry beauties in their hearts
And dreams, like me.
Long Trip
The sea is a wilderness of waves,
A desert of water.
We dip and dive,
Rise and roll,
Hide and are hidden
On the sea.
Day, night,
Night, day,
The sea is a desert of waves,
A wilderness of water.
Seascape
Off the coast of Ireland
As our ship passed by
We saw a line of fishing ships
Etched against the sky.
Off the coast of England
As we rode the foam
We saw an Indian merchantman
Coming home.
Moonlight Night: Carmel
Tonight the waves march
In long ranks
Cutting the darkness
With their silver shanks,
Cutting the darkness
And kissing the moon
And beating the land's
Edge into a swoon.
Heaven
Heaven is
The place where
Happiness is
Everywhere.
Animals
And birds sing—
As does
Everything.
To each stone,
"How-do-you-do?"
Stone answers back,
"Well! And you?"
In Time of Silver Rain
In time of silver rain
The earth
Puts forth new life again,
Green grasses grow
And flowers lift their heads,
And over all the plain
The wonder spreads
Of life,
Of life,
Of life!
In time of silver rain
The butterflies
Lift silken wings
To catch a rainbow cry,
And trees put forth
New leaves to sing
In joy beneath the sky
As down the roadway
Passing boys and girls
Go singing, too,
In time of silver rain
When spring
And life
Are new.
Joy
I went to look for Joy,
Slim, dancing Joy,
Gay, laughing Joy,
Bright-eyed Joy—
And I found her
Driving the butcher's cart
In the arms of the butcher boy!
Such company, such company,
As keeps this young nymph, Joy!
Winter Moon
How thin and sharp is the moon tonight!
How thin and sharp and ghostly white
Is the slim curved crook of the moon tonight!
Snail
Little snail,
Dreaming you go.
Weather and rose
Is all you know.
Weather and rose
Is all you see,
Drinking
The dewdrop's
Mystery.
March Moon
The moon is naked.
The wind has undressed the moon.
The wind has blown all the cloud-garments
Off the body of the moon
And now she's naked,
Stark naked.
But why don't you blush,
O shameless moon?
Don't you know
It isn't nice to be naked?
Harlem Night Song
Come,
Let us roam the night together
Singing.
I love you.
Across
The Harlem rooftops
Moon is shining.
Night sky is blue.
Stars are great drops
Of golden dew.
Down the street
A band is playing.
I love you.
Come,
Let us roam the night together
Singing.
To Artina
I will take your heart.
I will take your soul out of your body
As though I were God.
I will not be satisfied
With the little words you say to me.
I will not be satisfied
With the touch of your hand
Nor the sweet of your lips alone.
I will take your heart for mine.
I will take your soul.
I will be God when it comes to you.
Fulfilment
The earth-meaning
Like the sky-meaning
Was fulfilled.
We got up
And went to the river,
Touched silver water,
Laughed and bathed
In the sunshine.
Day
Became a bright ball of light
For us to play with,
Sunset
A yellow curtain,
Night
A velvet screen.
The moon,
Like an old grandmother,
Blessed us with a kiss
And sleep
Took us both in
Laughing.
Gypsy Melodies
Songs that break
And scatter
Out of the moon:
Rockets of joy
Dimmed too soon.
Mexican Market Woman
This ancient hag
Who sits upon the ground
Selling her scanty wares
Day in, day round,
Has known high wind-swept mountains,
And the sun has made
Her skin so brown.
A Black Pierrot
I am a black Pierrot:
She did not love me,
So I crept away into the night And the night was black, too.
I am a black Pierrot:
She did not love me,
So I wept until the dawn
Dripped blood over the eastern hills And my heart was bleeding, too.
I am a black Pierrot:
She did not love me,
So with my once gay-colored soul Shrunken like a balloon without air,
I went forth in the morning
To seek a new brown love.
Ardella
I would liken you
To a night without stars
Were it not for your eyes.
I would liken you
To a sleep without dreams
Were it not for your songs.
When Sue Wears Red
When Susanna Jones wears red
Her face is like an ancient cameo
Turned brown by the ages.
Come with a blast of trumpets,
Jesus!
When Susanna Jones wears red
A queen from some time-dead Egyptian night
Walks once again.
Blow trumpets, Jesus!
And the beauty of Susanna Jones in red
Burns in my heart a love-fire sharp like pain.
Sweet silver trumpets,
Jesus!
Love
Love is a wild wonder
And stars that sing,
Rocks that burst asunder
And mountains that take wing.
John Henry with his hammer
Makes a little spark.
That little spark is love
Dying in the dark.
Beale Street
The dream is vague
And all confused
With dice and women
And jazz and booze.
The dream is vague,
Without a name,
Yet warm and wavering
And sharp as flame.
The loss
Of the dream
Leaves nothing
The same.
Port Town
Hello, sailor boy,
In from the sea!
Hello, sailor,
Come with me!
Come on drink cognac.
Rather have wine?
Come here, I love you.
Come and be mine.
Lights, sailor boy,
Warm, white lights.
Solid land, kid.
Wild, white nights.
Come on, sailor,
Out o' the sea.
Let's go, sweetie!
Come with me.
Natcha
Natcha, offering love.
For ten shillings offering love.
Offering: A night with me, honey.
A long, sweet night with me.
Come, drink palm wine.
Come, drink kisses.
A long, dream night with me.
Young Sailor
He carries
His own strength
And his own laughter,
His own today
And his own hereafter—
This strong young sailor
Of the wide seas.
What is money for?
To spend, he says.
And wine?
To drink.
And women?
To love.
And today?
For joy.
And the green sea
For strength,
And the brown land
For laughter.
And nothing hereafter.
Sea Calm
How still,
How strangely still
The water is today.
It is not good
For water
To be so still that way.
Dream Dust
Gather out of star-dust
Earth-dust,
Cloud-dust,
Storm-dust,
And splinters of hail,
One handful of dream-dust
Not for sale.
No Regrets
Out of love,
No regrets—
Though the goodness
Be wasted forever.
Out of love,
No regrets—
Though the return
Be never.
Troubled Woman
She stands
In the quiet darkness,
This troubled woman
Bowed by
Weariness and pain
Like an
Autumn flower
In the frozen rain,
Like a
Wind-blown autumn flower
That never lifts its head
Again.
Island
Wave of sorrow,
Do not drown me now:
I see the island
Still ahead somehow.
I see the island
And its sands are fair:
Wave of sorrow,
Take me there.
DISTANCE NOWHERE
Border Line
I used to wonder
About living and dying—
I think the difference lies
Between tears and crying.
I used to wonder
About here and there—
I think the distance
Is nowhere.
Garden
Strange
Distorted blades of grass,
Strange
Distorted trees,
Strange
Distorted tulips
On their knees.
Genius Child
This is a song for the genius child.
Sing it softly, for the song is wild.
Sing it softly as ever you can—
Lest the song get out of hand.
Nobody loves a genius child.
Can you love an eagle,
Tame or wild?
Wild or tame,
Can you love a monster
Of frightening name?
Nobody loves a genius child.
Kill him—and let his soul run wild!
Strange Hurt
In times of stormy weather
She felt queer pain
That said,
"You'll find rain better
Than shelter from the rain."
Days filled with fiery sunshine
Strange hurt she knew
That made
Her seek the burning sunlight
Rather than the shade.
In months of snowy winter
When cozy houses hold,
She'd break down doors
To wander naked
In the cold.
Suicide's Note
The calm,
Cool face of the river
Asked me for a kiss.
End
There are
No clocks on the wall,
And no time,
No shadows that move
From dawn to dusk
Across the floor.
There is neither light
Nor dark
Outside the door.
There is no door!
Drum
Bear in mind
That death is a drum
Beating forever
Till the last worms come
To answer its call,
Till the last stars fall,
Until the last atom
Is no atom at all,
Until time is lost
And there is no air
And space itself
Is nothing nowhere,
Death is a drum,
A signal drum,
Calling life
To come!
Come!
Come!
Personal
In an envelope marked:
Personal
God addressed me a letter.
In an envelope marked:
Personal
I have given my answer.
Juliet
Wonder
And pain
And terror,
And sick silly songs
Of sorrow,
And the marrow
Of the bone
Of life
Are smeared across
Her mouth.
The road
From Verona
To Mantova
Is dusty
With the drought.
Desire
Desire to us
Was like a double death,
Swift dying
Of our mingled breath,
Evaporation
Of an unknown strange perfume
Between us quickly
In a naked
Room.
Vagabonds
We are the desperate
Who do not care,
The hungry
Who have nowhere
To eat,
No place to sleep,
The tearless
Who cannot
Weep.
One
Lonely
As the wind
On the Lincoln
Prairies.
Lonely
As a bottle of licker
On a table
All by itself.
Desert
Anybody
Better than
Nobody.
In the barren dusk
Even the snake
That spirals
Terror on the sand—
Better than nobody
In this lonely
Land.
A House in Taos
Rain
Thunder of the Rain God:
And we three
Smitten by beauty.
Thunder of the Rain God:
And we three
Weary, weary.
Thunder of the Rain God:
And you, she, and I
Waiting for nothingness.
Do you understand the stillness
Of this house
In Taos
Under the thunder of the Rain God?
Sun
That there should be a barren garden
About this house in Taos
Is not so strange,
But that there should be three barren hearts In this one house in Taos— Who
carries ugly things to show the sun?
Moon
Did you ask for the beaten brass of the moon?
We can buy lovely things with money,
You, she, and I,
Yet you seek,
As though you could keep,
This unbought loveliness of moon.
Wind
Touch our bodies, wind.
Our bodies are separate, individual things.
Touch our bodies, wind,
But blow quickly
Through the red, white, yellow skins
Of our bodies
To the terrible snarl,
Not mine,
Not yours,
Not hers,
But all one snarl of souls.
Blow quickly, wind,
Before we run back
Into the windlessness—
With our bodies—
Into the windlessness
Of our house in Taos.
Demand
Listen!
Dear dream of utter aliveness—
Touching my body of utter death—
Tell me, O quickly! dream of aliveness,
The flaming source of your bright breath.
Tell me, O dream of utter aliveness—
Knowing so well the wind and the sun—
Where is this light
Your eyes see forever?
And what is this wind
You touch when you run?
Dream
Last night I dreamt
This most strange dream,
And everywhere I saw
What did not seem could ever be:
You were not there with me!
Awake,
I turned
And touched you
Asleep,
Face to the wall.
I said,
How dreams
Can lie!
But you were not there at all!
Night: Four Songs
Night of the two moons
And the seventeen stars,
Night of the day before yesterday
And the day after tomorrow,
Night of the four songs unsung:
Sorrow! Sorrow!
Sorrow! Sorrow!
Luck
Sometimes a crumb falls
From the tables of joy,
Sometimes a bone
Is flung.
To some people
Love is given,
To others
Only heaven.
Old Walt
Old Walt Whitman
Went finding and seeking,
Finding less than sought
Seeking more than found,
Every detail minding
Of the seeking or the finding.
Pleasured equally
In seeking as in finding,
Each detail minding,
Old Walt went seeking
And finding.
Kid in the Park
Lonely little question mark
on a bench in the park:
See the people passing by?
See the airplanes in the sky?
See the birds
flying home
before
dark?
Home's just around
the corner
there—
but not really
anywhere.
Song for Billie Holiday
What can purge my heart
Of the song
And the sadness?
What can purge my heart
But the song
Of the sadness?
What can purge my heart
Of the sadness
Of the song?
Do not speak of sorrow
With dust in her hair,
Or bits of dust in eyes
A chance wind blows there.
The sorrow that I speak of
Is dusted with despair.
Voice of muted trumpet,
Cold brass in warm air.
Bitter television blurred
By sound that shimmers—
Where?
Fantasy in Purple
Beat the drums of tragedy for me.
Beat the drums of tragedy and death.
And let the choir sing a stormy song
To drown the rattle of my dying breath.
Beat the drums of tragedy for me,
And let the white violins whir thin and slow, But blow one blaring trumpet note
of sun
To go with me
to the darkness
where I go.
AFTER HOURS
Midnight Raffle
I put my nickel
In the raffle of the night.
Somehow that raffle
Didn't turn out right.
I lost my nickel.
I lost my time.
I got back home
Without a dime.
When I dropped that nickel
In the subway slot,
I wouldn't have dropped it,
Knowing what I got.
I could just as well've
Stayed home inside:
My bread wasn't buttered
On neither side.
What?
Some pimps wear summer hats
Into late fall
Since the money that comes in
Won't cover it all—
Suit, overcoat, shoes—
And hat, too!
Got to neglect something,
So what would you do?
Gone Boy
Playboy of the dawn,
Solid gone!
Out all night
Until 12—1—2 a.m.
Next day
When he should be gone
To work—
Dog-gone!
He ain't gone.
50–50
I'm all alone in this world, she said,
Ain't got nobody to share my bed,
Ain't got nobody to hold my hand—
The truth of the matter's
I ain't got no man.
Big Boy opened his mouth and said,
Trouble with you is
You ain't got no head!
If you had a head and used your mind
You could have me with you All the time.
She answered, Babe, what must I do?
He said, Share your bed—
And your money, too.
Maybe
I asked you, baby,
If you understood—
You told me that you didn't,
But you thought you would.
Lover's Return
My old time daddy
Came back home last night.
His face was pale and
His eyes didn't look just right.
He says, "Mary, I'm
Comin' home to you—
So sick and lonesome
I don't know what to do."
Oh, men treats women Just like a pair o' shoes— You kicks 'em round and
Does 'em like you choose.
I looked at my daddy—
Lawd! and I wanted to cry.
He looked so thin—
Lawd! that I wanted to cry.
But the devil told me:
Damn a lover
Come home to die!
Miss Blues'es Child
If the blues would let me,
Lord knows I would smile.
If the blues would let me,
I would smile, smile, smile.
Instead of that I'm cryin'—
I must be Miss Blues'es child.
You were my moon up in the sky,
At night my wishing star.
I love you, oh, I love you so—
But you have gone so far!
Now my days are lonely,
And night-time drives me wild.
In my heart I'm crying,
I'm just Miss Blues'es child!
Trumpet Player
The Negro
With the trumpet at his lips
Has dark moons of weariness
Beneath his eyes
Where the smoldering memory
Of slave ships
Blazed to the crack of whips
About his thighs.
The Negro
With the trumpet at his lips
Has a head of vibrant hair
Tamed down,
Patent-leathered now
Until it gleams
Like jet—
Were jet a crown.
The music
From the trumpet at his lips
Is honey
Mixed with liquid fire.
The rhythm
From the trumpet at his lips
Is ecstasy
Distilled from old desire—
Desire
That is longing for the moon
Where the moonlight's but a spotlight
In his eyes,
Desire
That is longing for the sea
Where the sea's a bar-glass
Sucker size.
The Negro
With the trumpet at his lips
Whose jacket
Has a fine one-button roll, Does not know
Upon what riff the music slips
Its hypodermic needle
To his soul—
But softly
As the tune comes from his throat
Trouble
Mellows to a golden note.
Monroe's Blues
Monroe's fell on evil days—
His woman and his friend is dead.
Monroe's fell on evil days,
Can't hardly get his bread.
Monroe sings a little blues,
His little blues is sad.
Monroe sings a little blues—
My woman and my friend is dead.
Stony Lonesome
They done took Cordelia
Out to stony lonesome ground.
Done took Cordelia
To stony lonesome,
Laid her down.
They done put Cordelia
Underneath that
Grassless mound.
Ay-Lord!
Ay-Lord!
Ay-Lord!
She done left po' Buddy
To struggle by his self.
Po' Buddy Jones,
Yes, he's done been left.
She's out in stony lonesome,
Lordy! Sleepin' by herself.
Cordelia's
In stony
Lonesome
Ground!
Black Maria
Must be the Black Maria
That I see,
The Black Maria that I see—
But I hope it
Ain't comin' for me.
Hear that music playin' upstairs?
Aw, my heart is
Full of cares—
But that music playin' upstairs
Is for me.
Babe, did you ever
See the sun
Rise at dawnin' full of fun?
Says, did you ever see the sun rise
Full of fun, full of fun?
Then you know a new day's
Done begun.
Black Maria passin' by
Leaves the sunrise in the sky—
And a new day,
Yes, a new day's
Done begun!
LIFE IS FINE
Life Is Fine
I went down to the river,
I set down on the bank.
I tried to think but couldn't,
So I jumped in and sank.
I came up once and hollered!
I came up twice and cried!
If that water hadn't a-been so cold
I might've sunk and died.
But it was
Cold in that water!
It was cold!
I took the elevator
Sixteen floors above the ground.
I thought about my baby
And thought I would jump down.
I stood there and I hollered!
I stood there and I cried!
If it hadn't a-been so high
I might've jumped and died.
But it was
High up there!
It was high!
So since I'm still here livin',
I guess I will live on.
I could've died for love—
But for livin' I was born.
Though you may hear me holler,
And you may see me cry—
And you may see me cry—
I'll be dogged, sweet baby,
If you gonna see me die.
Life is fine!
Fine as wine!
Life is fine!
Still Here
I've been scarred and battered.
My hopes the wind done scattered.
Snow has friz me, sun has baked me.
Looks like between 'em
They done tried to make me
Stop laughin', stop lovin', stop livin'—
But I don't care!
I'm still here!
Ballad of the Gypsy
I went to the Gypsy's.
Gypsy settin' all alone.
I said, Tell me, Gypsy,
When will my gal be home?
Gypsy said, Silver,
Put some silver in my hand
And I'll look into the future
And tell you all I can.
I crossed her palm with silver,
Then she started in to lie.
She said, Now, listen, Mister,
She'll be here by and by.
Aw, what a lie!
I been waitin' and awaitin'
And she ain't come home yet.
Something musta happened
To make my gal forget.
Uh! I hates a lyin' Gypsy
Will take good money from you,
Tell you pretty stories
And take your money from you—
But if I was a Gypsy
I would take your money, too.
Me and the Mule
My old mule,
He's got a grin on his face.
He's been a mule so long
He's forgot about his race.
I'm like that old mule—
Black—and don't give a damn!
You got to take me
Like I am.
Kid Sleepy
Listen, Kid Sleepy,
Don't you want to run around
To the other side of the house
Where the shade is?
It's sunny here
And your skin'll turn
A reddish-purple in the sun.
Kid Sleepy said,
I don't care.
Listen, Kid Sleepy,
Don't you want to get up
And go to work downTown somewhere
To earn enough
For lunches and car fare?
Kid Sleepy said,
I don't care.
Or would you rather,
Kid Sleepy, just
Stay here?
Rather just
Stay here.
Little Lyric (Of Great Importance)
I wish the rent
Was heaven sent.
Fired
Awake all night with loving
The bright day caught me
Unawares—asleep.
"Late to work again,"
The boss man said.
"You're fired!"
So I went on back to bed—
And dreamed the sweetest dream
With Caledonia's arm
Beneath my head.
Midnight Dancer
Wine-maiden
Of the jazz-tuned night,
Lips
Sweet as purple dew,
Breasts
Like the pillows of all sweet dreams,
Who crushed
The grapes of joy
And dripped their juice
On you?
Blue Monday
No use in my going
Downtown to work today,
It's eight,
I'm late—
And it's marked down that-a-way.
Saturday and Sunday's
Fun to sport around.
But no use denying—
Monday'll get you down.
That old blue Monday
Will surely get you down.
Ennui
It's such a
Bore
Being always
Poor.
Mama and Daughter
Mama, please brush off my coat I'm going down the street.
Where're you going, daughter?
To see my sugar-sweet.
Who is your sugar, honey?
Turn around—I'll brush behind.
He is that young man, mama, I can't get off my mind.
Daughter, once upon a time—
Let me brush the hem—
Your father, yes, he was the one!
I felt like that about him.
But it was a long time ago
He up and went his way.
I hope that wild young son-of-a-gun
Rots in hell today!
Mama, dad couldn't be still young.
He was young yesterday.
He was young when he— Turn around!
So I can brush your back, I say!
Delinquent
Little Julie
Has grown quite tall.
Folks say she don't like
To stay home at all.
Little Julie
Has grown quite stout.
Folks say it's not just
Stomach sticking out.
Little Julie
Has grown quite wise—
A tiger, a lion, and an owl
In her eyes.
Little Julie
Says she don't care!
What she means is:
Nobody cares
Anywhere.
S-sss-ss-sh!
Her great adventure ended
As great adventures should
In life being created
Anew—and good.
Except the neighbors And her mother
Did not think it good!
Nature has a way
Of not caring much
About marriage
About marriage
Licenses and such.
But the neighbors
And her mother
Cared very much!
The baby came one morning,
Almost with the sun.
The neighbors—
And its grandma—
Were outdone!
But mother and child
Thought it fun.
Homecoming
I went back in the alley
And I opened up my door.
All her clothes was gone:
She wasn't home no more.
I pulled back the covers,
I made down the bed.
A whole lot of room Was the only thing I had.
Final Curve
When you turn the corner
And you run into yourself Then you know that you have turned
All the corners that are left.
Little Green Tree
It looks like to me
My good-time days done past.
Nothin' in this world
Is due to last.
I used to play
And I played so dog-gone hard.
Now old age has
Dealt my bad-luck card.
I look down the road
And I see a little tree.
A little piece down the road.
I see a little tree.
Them cool green leaves
Is waitin' to shelter me.
O, little tree!
Crossing
It was that lonely day, folks,
When I walked all by myself.
My friends was all around me
But it was as if they'd left.
I went up on a mountain
In a high cold wind
And the coat that I was wearing
Was mosquito-netting thin.
I went down in the valley
And I crossed an icy stream
And the water I was crossing
Was no water in a dream
And the shoes I was wearing
No protection for that stream.
Then I stood out on a prairie
And as far as I could see
Wasn't nobody on that prairie
Looked like me.
It was that lonely day, folks,
I walked all by myself:
My friends was right there with me
But was just as if they'd left.
Widow Woman
Oh, that last long ride is a
Ride everybody must take.
Yes, that last long ride's a
Ride everybody must take.
And that final stop is a
Stop everybody must make.
When they put you in the ground and
They throw dirt in your face,
I say put you in the ground and
Throw dirt in your face,
That's one time, pretty papa,
You'll sure stay in your place.
You was a mighty lover and you
Ruled me many years.
A mighty lover, baby, cause you
Ruled me many years—
If I live to be a thousand
I'll never dry these tears.
I don't want nobody else and
Don't nobody else want me.
I say don't want nobody else
And don't nobody else want me—
Yet you never can tell when a Woman like me is free!
LAMENT OVER LOVE
Misery
Play the blues for me.
Play the blues for me.
No other music
'Ll ease my misery.
Sing a soothin' song.
Said a soothin' song,
Cause the man I love's done
Done me wrong.
Can't you understand,
O, understand
A good woman's cryin'
For a no-good man?
Black gal like me,
Black gal like me
'S got to hear a blues
For her misery.
Ballad of the Fortune Teller
Madam could look in your hand—
Never seen you before—
And tell you more than
You'd want to know.
She could tell you about love,
And money, and such.
And she wouldn't
Charge you much.
A fellow came one day.
Madam took him in.
She treated him like
He was her kin.
Gave him money to gamble.
She gave him bread,
And let him sleep in her
Walnut bed.
Friends tried to tell her
Dave meant her no good.
Looks like she could've knowed it
If she only would.
He mistreated her terrible,
Beat her up bad.
Then went off and left her.
Stole all she had.
She tried to find out
What road he took.
There wasn't a trace
No way she looked.
That woman who could foresee
What your future meant, Couldn't tell, to save her,
Where Dave went.
Cora
I broke my heart this mornin',
Ain't got no heart no more.
Next time a man comes near me
Gonna shut an' lock my door
Cause they treat me mean—
The ones I love.
They always treat me mean.
Down and Out
Baby, if you love me
Help me when I'm down and out
If you love me, baby,
Help me when I'm down and out,
I'm a po' gal
Nobody gives a damn about.
The credit man's done took ma clothes
And rent time's nearly here.
I'd like to buy a straightenin' comb,
An' I need a dime fo' beer.
I need a dime fo' beer.
Young Gal's Blues
I'm gonna walk to the graveyard
'Hind ma friend Miss Cora Lee.
Gonna walk to the graveyard
'Hind ma dear friend Cora Lee
Cause when I'm dead some
Body'll have to walk behind me.
I'm goin' to the po' house
To see ma old Aunt Clew.
Goin' to the po' house
To see ma old Aunt Clew.
When I'm old an' ugly
I'll want to see somebody, too.
The po' house is lonely
An' the grave is cold.
O, the po' house is lonely,
The graveyard grave is cold.
But I'd rather be dead than
To be ugly an' old.
When love is gone what
Can a young gal do?
When love is gone, O,
What can a young gal do?
Keep on a-lovin' me, daddy,
Cause I don't want to be blue.
Ballad of the Girl Whose Name Is Mud
A girl with all that raising,
It's hard to understand
How she could get in trouble
With a no-good man.
The guy she gave her all to
Dropped her with a thud.
Now amongst decent people,
Dorothy's name is mud.
But nobody's seen her shed a tear,
Nor seen her hang her head.
Ain't even heard her murmur,
Lord, I wish I was dead!
No! The hussy's telling everybody—
Just as though it was no sin—
That if she had a chance
She'd do it agin'!
Hard Daddy
I went to ma daddy,
Says Daddy I have got the blues.
Went to ma daddy,
Says Daddy I have got the blues.
Ma daddy says, Honey,
Can't you bring no better news?
I cried on his shoulder but
He turned his back on me.
Cried on his shoulder but
He turned his back on me.
He said a woman's cryin's
Never gonna bother me.
I wish I had wings to
Fly like the eagle flies.
Wish I had wings to
Fly like the eagle flies.
I'd fly on ma man an'
I'd scratch out both his eyes.
Midwinter Blues
In the middle of the winter,
Snow all over the ground.
In the middle of the winter,
Snow all over the ground—
'Twas the night befo' Christmas
My good man turned me down.
Don't know's I'd mind his goin'
But he left me when the coal was low.
Don't know's I'd mind his goin'
But he left when the coal was low.
Now, if a man loves a woman
That ain't no time to go.
He told me that he loved me
But he must a been tellin' a lie.
He told me that he loved me.
He must a been tellin' a lie.
But he's the only man I'll
Love till the day I die.
I'm gonna buy me a rose bud
An' plant it at my back door,
Buy me a rose bud,
Plant it at my back door,
So when I'm dead they won't need
No flowers from the store.
Little Old Letter
It was yesterday morning
I looked in my box for mail.
The letter that I found there
Made me turn right pale.
Just a little old letter,
Wasn't even one page long—
But it made me wish
I was in my grave and gone.
I turned it over,
Not a word writ on the back.
I never felt so lonesome
Since I was born black.
Just a pencil and paper,
You don't need no gun nor knife—
A little old letter
Can take a person's life.
Lament over Love
I hope my child'll
Never love a man.
I say I hope my child'll
Never love a man.
Love can hurt you
Mo'n anything else can.
I'm goin' down to the river
An' I ain't goin' there to swim;
Down to the river,
Ain't goin' there to swim.
My true love's left me
And I'm goin' there to think about him.
Love is like whiskey,
Love is like red, red wine.
Love is like whiskey,
Like sweet red wine.
If you want to be happy
You got to love all the time.
I'm goin' up in a tower
Tall as a tree is tall,
Up in a tower
Tall as a tree is tall.
Gonna think about my man—
And let my fool-self fall.
MAGNOLIA FLOWERS
Daybreak in Alabama
When I get to be a composer
I'm gonna write me some music about
Daybreak in Alabama
And I'm gonna put the purtiest songs in it
Rising out of the ground like a swamp mist
And falling out of heaven like soft dew.
I'm gonna put some tall tall trees in it
And the scent of pine needles
And the smell of red clay after rain
And long red necks
And poppy colored faces
And big brown arms
And the field daisy eyes
Of black and white black white black people
And I'm gonna put white hands
And black hands and brown and yellow hands
And red clay earth hands in it
Touching everybody with kind fingers
And touching each other natural as dew
In that dawn of music when I
Get to be a composer
And write about daybreak
In Alabama.
Cross
My old man's a white old man
And my old mother's black.
If ever I cursed my white old man
I take my curses back.
If ever I cursed my black old mother
And wished she were in hell,
I'm sorry for that evil wish
And now I wish her well.
My old man died in a fine big house.
My ma died in a shack.
I wonder where I'm gonna die,
Being neither white nor black?
Magnolia Flowers
The quiet fading out of life
In a corner full of ugliness.
I went lookin' for magnolia flowers
But I didn't find 'em.
I went lookin' for magnolia flowers in the dusk And there was only this corner
Full of ugliness.
'Scuse me,
I didn't mean to stump ma toe on you, lady.
There ought to be magnolias
Somewhere in this dusk.
'Scuse me,
I didn't mean to stump ma toe on you.
Mulatto
I am your son, white man!
Georgia dusk
And the turpentine woods.
One of the pillars of the temple fell.
You are my son!
Like hell!
The moon over the turpentine woods.
The Southern night
Full of stars,
Great big yellow stars.
What's a body but a toy?
Juicy bodies
Of nigger wenches
Blue black
Against black fences.
O, you little bastard boy,
What's a body but a toy?
The scent of pine wood stings the soft night air.
What's the body of your mother?
Silver moonlight everywhere.
What's the body of your mother?
Sharp pine scent in the evening air.
A nigger night,
A nigger joy,
A little yellow
Bastard boy.
Naw, you ain't my brother.
Niggers ain't my brother.
Not ever.
Niggers ain't my brother.
The Southern night is full of stars,
The Southern night is full of stars,
Great big yellow stars.
O, sweet as earth,
Dusk dark bodies
Give sweet birth
To little yellow bastard boys.
Git on back there in the night, You ain't white.
The bright stars scatter everywhere.
Pine wood scent in the evening air.
A nigger night,
A nigger joy.
I am your son, white man!
A little yellow
Bastard boy.
Southern Mammy Sings
Miss Gardner's in her garden.
Miss Yardman's in her yard.
Miss Michaelmas is at de mass
And I am gettin' tired!
Lawd!
I am gettin' tired!
The nations they is fightin'
And the nations they done fit.
Sometimes I think that white folks
Ain't worth a little bit.
No, m'am!
Ain't worth a little bit.
Last week they lynched a colored boy.
They hung him to a tree.
That colored boy ain't said a thing
But we all should be free.
Yes, m'am!
We all should be free.
Not meanin' to be sassy
And not meanin' to be smart—
But sometimes I think that white folks
Just ain't got no heart.
No, m'am!
Just ain't got no heart.
Ku Klux
They took me out
To some lonesome place.
They said, “Do you believe
In the great white race?”
I said, “Mister,
To tell you the truth,
I'd believe in anything
If you'd just turn me loose.”
The white man said, “Boy,
Can it be
You're a-standin' there
A-sassin' me?”
They hit me in the head
And knocked me down.
And then they kicked me
On the ground.
A klansman said, “Nigger,
Look me in the face—
And tell me you believe in
The great white race.”
West Texas
Down in West Texas where the sun
Shines like the evil one
I had a woman
And her name
Was Joe.
Pickin' cotton in the field
Joe said I wonder how it would feel
For us to pack up
Our things
And go?
So we cranked up our old Ford
And we started down the road
Where we was goin'
We didn't know—
Nor which way.
But West Texas where the sun
Shines like the evil one
Ain't no place
For a colored
Man to stay!
Share-Croppers
Just a herd of Negroes
Driven to the field,
Plowing, planting, hoeing,
To make the cotton yield.
When the cotton's picked
And the work is done
Boss man takes the money
And we get none,
Leaves us hungry, ragged
As we were before.
Year by year goes by
And we are nothing more
Than a herd of Negroes
Driven to the field—
Plowing life away
To make the cotton yield.
Ruby Brown
She was young and beautiful
And golden like the sunshine
That warmed her body.
And because she was colored
Mayville had no place to offer her,
Nor fuel for the clean flame of joy
That tried to burn within her soul.
One day,
Sitting on old Mrs. Latham's back porch
Polishing the silver,
She asked herself two questions
And they ran something like this:
What can a colored girl do
On the money from a white woman's kitchen?
And ain't there any joy in this town?
Now the streets down by the river
Know more about this pretty Ruby Brown,
And the sinister shuttered houses of the bottoms Hold a yellow girl
Seeking an answer to her questions.
The good church folk do not mention
Her name any more.
But the white men,
Habitués of the high shuttered houses,
Pay more money to her now
Than they ever did before,
When she worked in their kitchens.
Roland Hayes Beaten (Georgia: 1942)
Negroes,
Sweet and docile,
Meek, humble, and kind:
Beware the day
They change their minds!
Wind
In the cotton fields,
Gentle breeze:
Beware the hour
It uproots trees!
Uncle Tom
Within—
The beaten pride.
Without—
The grinning face,
The low, obsequious,
Double bow,
The sly and servile grace
Of one the white folks
Long ago
Taught well
To know his
Place.
Porter
I must say
Yes, sir,
To you all the time.
Yes, sir!
Yes, sir!
All my days
Climbing up a great big mountain
Of yes, sirs!
Rich old white man
Owns the world.
Gimme yo' shoes
To shine.
Yes, sir!
Blue Bayou
I went walkin'
By the blue bayou
And I saw the sun go down.
I thought about old Greeley
And I thought about Lou
And I saw the sun go down.
White man
Makes me work all day
And I work too hard
For too little pay—
Then a white man
Takes my woman away.
I'll kill old Greeley.
The blue bayou
Turns red as fire.
Put the black man
On a rope
And pull him higher!
I saw the sun go down.
Put him on a rope
And pull him higher!
The blue bayou's
A pool of fire.
And I saw the sun go down,
Down,
Down,
Lawd, I saw the sun go down!
Silhouette
Southern gentle lady,
Do not swoon.
They've just hung a black man
In the dark of the moon.
They've hung a black man
To a roadside tree
In the dark of the moon
For the world to see
How Dixie protects
Its white womanhood.
Southern gentle lady,
Be good!
Be good!
Song for a Dark Girl
Way Down South in Dixie
(Break the heart of me)
They hung my black young lover
To a cross roads tree.
Way Down South in Dixie
(Bruised body high in air)
I asked the white Lord Jesus
What was the use of prayer.
Way Down South in Dixie
(Break the heart of me)
Love is a naked shadow
On a gnarled and naked tree.
The South
The lazy, laughing South
With blood on its mouth.
The sunny-faced South,
Beast-strong,
Idiot-brained.
The child-minded South
Scratching in the dead fire's ashes
For a Negro's bones.
Cotton and the moon,
Warmth, earth, warmth,
The sky, the sun, the stars,
The magnolia-scented South.
Beautiful, like a woman,
Seductive as a dark-eyed whore,
Passionate, cruel,
Honey-lipped, syphilitic—
That is the South.
And I, who am black, would love her
But she spits in my face.
And I, who am black,
Would give her many rare gifts
But she turns her back upon me.
So now I seek the North—
The cold-faced North,
For she, they say,
Is a kinder mistress,
And in her house my children
May escape the spell of the South.
Bound No'th Blues
Goin' down the road, Lawd,
Goin' down the road.
Down the road, Lawd,
Way, way down the road.
Got to find somebody
To help me carry this load.
Road's in front o' me,
Nothin' to do but walk.
Road's in front o' me,
Walk … an' walk … an' walk.
I'd like to meet a good friend
To come along an' talk.
Hates to be lonely,
Lawd, I hates to be sad.
Says I hates to be lonely,
Hates to be lonely an' sad,
But ever friend you finds seems
Like they try to do you bad.
Road, road, road, O!
Road, road … road … road, road!
Road, road, road, O!
On the no'thern road.
These Mississippi towns ain't
Fit fer a hoppin' toad.