Out of the dust of dreams, Fairies weave their garments; Out of the purple and rose of old memories, They make rainbow wings. No wonder we find them such marvellous things!...

The little house is sugar, Its roof with snow is piled, And from its tiny window, Peeps a maple-sugar child....

Bright, jolly sunshine and clear blue skies, Green trees and gardens and gay butterflies, Soft little winds that balmy blow, A golden moon with a love light glow, And the music of bird songs, blithe a...

Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head With silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby With its pitty-pat. The rain makes still pools on the sidewalk. The rain makes running...

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...

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 ...

Willy is a silly boy, Willy is a cad. Willy is a foolish kid, Sense he never had. Yet all the girls like Willy⁠— Why I cannot see⁠— He even took my best girl Right away from me. I asked him did he wan...

The Sandman walks abroad tonight, With his canvas sack o’ dreams filled tight. Over the roofs of the little town, The golden face of the moon looks down. Each Mary and Willy and Cora and Ned Is sound ...

Flowers are happy in summer; In autumn they die and are blown away. Dry and withered, Their petals dance on the wind, Like little brown butterflies....

When the night winds whistle through the trees and blow the crisp brown leaves a-crackling down, When the autumn moon is big and yellow-orange and round, When old Jack Frost is sparkling on the ground...

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 door-steps clean. I brushed the boots of Washington. I’ve been a worker: Un...

When the old junk man Death Comes to gather up our bodies And toss them into the sack of oblivion, I wonder if he will find The corpse of a white multimillionaire Worth more pennies of eternity, Than ...

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....

There’s a new, young moon riding the hills tonight; There’s a sprightly, young moon exploring the clouds; There’s a half-shy, young moon veiling her face like a virgin, Waiting for her lover....

The moon still sends its mellow light Through the purple blackness of the night; The morning star is palely bright Before the dawn. The sun still shines just as before; The rose still grows beside my ...

I love to see the big white moon, A-shining in the sky; I love to see the little stars, When the shadow clouds go by. I love the rain drops falling On my roof-top in the night; I love the soft wind’s ...

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 moo...

Dream singers, Story tellers, Dancers, Loud laughers in the hands of Fate⁠— My people. Dish-washers, Elevator-boys, Ladies’ maids, Crap-shooters, Cooks, Waiters, Jazzers, Nurses of babies, Loaders of ...

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 ⁠… slow...

Now, In June, When the night is a vast softness Filled with blue stars, And broken shafts of moon-glimmer Fall upon the earth, Am I too old to see the fairies dance? I cannot find them any more....

What is there within this beggar lad That I can neither hear nor feel nor see, That I can neither know nor understand And still it calls to me? Is not he but a shadow in the sun⁠— A bit of clay, brown...

Shake your brown feet, honey, Shake your brown feet, chile, Shake your brown feet, honey, Shake ’em swift and wil’⁠— Get way back, honey, Do that low-down step. Walk on over, darling, Now! Come out Wi...

Well, son, I’ll tell you: Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair. It’s had tacks in it, And splinters, And boards torn up, And places with no carpet on the floor⁠— Bare; But all the time I’se been a-...

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 W...

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 red dawn Dripped blood over the e...

That Justice is a blind goddess Is a thing to which we black are wise. Her bandage hides two festering sores That once, perhaps, were eyes....

Today like yesterday Tomorrow like today; The drip, drip, drip, Of monotony Is wearing my life away; Today like yesterday, Tomorrow like today....

Hold fast to dreams, my son, For if dreams die Life is a broken-winged bird That cannot fly. Hold fast to dreams, O boy, For when dreams go Life is a barren field Frozen with snow....

All the tom-toms of the jungles beat in my blood, And all the wild hot moons of the jungles shine in my soul. I am afraid of this civilization⁠— So hard, So strong, So cold....

We should have a land of sun, Of gorgeous sun, And a land of fragrant water Where the twilight Is a soft bandana handkerchief Of rose and gold, And not this land where life is cold. We should have a l...

The jeweled entrails of pomegranates bled on the marble floor. The jewel-heart of a virgin broke at the golden door. The laughter of a drunken lord hid the sob of a silken whore. Mene, Wrote a strange...

Her dark brown face Is like a withered flower On a broken stem. Those kind come cheap in Harlem So they say....

Oh, silver tree! Oh, shining rivers of the soul! In a Harlem cabaret Six long-headed jazzers play. A dancing girl whose eyes are bold Lifts high a dress of silken gold. Oh, singing tree! Oh, shining r...

We run, We run, We cannot stand these shadows! Give us the sun. We were not made For shade, For heavy shade, And narrow space of stifling air That these white things have made. We run, Oh, God, We run...

Does a jazz-band ever sob? They say a jazz-band’s gay. Yet as the vulgar dancers whirled And the wan night wore away, One said she heard the jazz-band sob When the little dawn was grey....

How thin and sharp is the moon tonight! How thin and sharp and ghostly white Is the slim curved crook of the moon tonight!...

One who sings “chansons vulgaires” In a Harlem cellar Where the jazz-band plays From dark to dawn Would not understand Should you tell her That she is like a nymph For some wild faun....

Glory! Halleluiah! De dawn’s a-comin’! Glory! Halleluiah! De dawn’s a-comin’! A black old woman croons In the amen-corner of the Ebecanezer Baptist Church. A black old woman croons⁠— De dawn’s a-comin...

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....

A little southern colored child comes to a northern school and is afraid to play with the white children. At first they are nice to him, but finally they taunt him and call him “nigger.” The colored c...

Shall I make a record of your beauty? Shall I write words about you? Shall I make a poem that will live a thousand years and paint you in the poem?...

I do not hate you, For your faces are beautiful, too. I do not hate you, Your faces are whirling lights of loveliness and splendor, too. Yet why do you torture me, O, white strong ones, Why do you tor...

The haunting face of poverty, The hands of pain, The rough, gargantuan feet of fate, The nails of conscience in a soul That didn’t want to do wrong⁠— You can see what they’ve done To brothers of mine ...

The ivory gods, And the ebony gods, And the gods of diamond and jade, Sit silently on their temple shelves While the people Are afraid. Yet the ivory gods, And the ebony gods, And the gods of diamond-...

The gold moth did not love him So, gorgeous, she flew away. But the gray moth circled the flame Until the break of day. And then, with wings like a dead desire, She fell, fire-caught, into the fire....

Oh, the sea is deep And a knife is sharp And a poison acid burns; But they all bring rest In a deep, long sleep For which the tired soul yearns⁠— They all bring rest in a nothingness From where no roa...

O, Great God of Cold and Winter, Wrap the earth in an icy blanket And freeze the poor in their beds. All those who haven’t enough cover To keep them warm, Nor food enough to keep them strong⁠— Freeze,...

I was a red man one time, But the white men came. I was a black man, too, But the white men came. They drove me out of the forest. They took me away from the jungles. I lost my trees. I lost my silver...

Her teeth are as white as the meat of an apple, Her lips are like dark ripe plums. I love her. Her hair is a midnight mass, a dusky aurora. I love her. And because her skin is the brown of an oak leaf...

We have tomorrow Bright before us Like a flame. Yesterday, a night-gone thing, A sun-down name. And dawn-today Broad arch above the road we came. We march....

I’m waiting for ma mammy⁠— She is Death. Say it very softly. Say it very slowly if you choose. I’m waiting for ma mammy⁠— Death....

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 d...

We cry among the skyscrapers As our ancestors Cried among the palms in Africa Because we are alone, It is night, And we’re afraid....

That I have been looking For you all my life Does not matter to you. You do not know. You never knew. Nor did I. Now you take the Harlem train uptown; I take a local down....

Oh, wash-woman, Arms elbow-deep in white suds, Soul washed clean, Clothes washed clean⁠— I have many songs to sing you Could I but find the words. Was it four o’clock or six o’clock on a winter aftern...

A wild poppy-flower Withered and died. The day-people laughed But the night-people cried. A wild poppy-flower Withered and died....

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....

In the Johannesburg Mines There are 240,000 Native Africans working. What kind of poem Would you Make out of that? 240,000 natives Working in the Johannesburg mines....

You are no friend of mine For I am poor, Black, Ignorant and slow⁠— Not your kind, You yourself Have told me so⁠— No friend of mine....

The mills That grind and grind, That grind out new steel And grind away the lives Of men⁠— In the sunset Their stacks Are great black silhouettes Against the sky. In the dawn They belch red fire. The ...

“Me an’ ma baby’s Got two mo’ ways, Two mo’ ways to do de buck! Da, da, Da, da, da! Two mo’ ways to do de buck!” Soft light on the tables, Music gay, Brown-skin steppers In a cabaret. White folks, lau...

It is we who are liars: The Pretenders-to-be who are not And the Pretenders-not-to-be who are. It is we who use words As screens for thoughts And weave dark garments To cover the naked body Of the too...

Sea charm The sea’s own children Do not understand. They know But that the sea is strong Like God’s hand. They know But that sea wind is sweet Like God’s breath, And that the sea holds A wide, deep de...

Bring me all of your dreams, You dreamers. Bring me all of your Heart melodies That I may wrap them In a blue cloud-cloth Away from the too rough fingers Of the world....

Lovely, dark, and lonely one, Bare your bosom to the sun, Do not be afraid of light You who are a child of night. Open wide your arms to life, Whirl in the wind of pain and strife, Face the wall with ...

Being walkers with the dawn and morning Walkers with the sun and morning, We are not afraid of night, Nor days of gloom, Nor darkness, Being walkers with the sun and morning....

It’s an earth song⁠— And I’ve been waiting long for an earth song. It’s a spring song⁠— And I’ve been waiting long for a spring song. Strong as the shoots of a new plant Strong as the bursting of new ...

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, I’ll sit at the table When company comes. No...

You can’t sleep here, My good man, You can’t sleep here. This is the house of God. The usher opens the church door and he goes out. You can’t sleep in this car, old top, Not here. If Jones found you H...

Hungry child, I didn’t make this world for you. You didn’t buy any stock in my railroad. You didn’t invest in my corporation. Where are your shares in standard oil? I made the world for the rich And t...

Ice-cold passion And a bitter breath Adorned the bed Of Youth and Death⁠— Youth, the young soldier Who went to the wars And embraced white Death, The vilest of whores. Now we spread roses Over your to...

I’ve sat on the park benches in Paris Hungry. I’ve sat on the park benches in New York Hungry. And I’ve said: I want a job. I want work. And I’ve been told: There are no jobs. There is no work. So I’v...

To you Who are the Foam on the sea And not the sea⁠— What of the jagged rocks, And the waves themselves, And the force of the mounting waters? You are But foam on the sea, You rich ones⁠— Not the sea....

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.⁠ ...

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....

I loved my friend. He went away from me. There’s nothing more to say. The poem ends, Soft as it began⁠— I loved my friend....

Little dark baby, Little Jew baby, Little outcast, America is seeking the stars, America is seeking tomorrow. You are America. I am America America⁠—the dream, America⁠—the vision. America⁠—the star-s...

You sicken me with lies, With truthful lies. And with your pious faces, And your wide, out-stretched, mock-welcome, Christian hands. While underneath Is dirt and ugliness, And rottening hearts, And wi...

The calm, Cool face of the river Asked me for a kiss....

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 ...

Strut and wiggle, Shameless gal. Wouldn’t no good fellow Be your pal. Hear dat music.⁠ ⁠… Jungle night. Hear dat music.⁠ ⁠… And the moon was white. Sing your Blues song, Pretty baby. You want lovin’ A...

They say she died⁠— Although I do not know, They say she died of grief And in the earth-dark arms of Death Sought calm relief, And rest from pain of love In loveless sleep....

In one hand I hold tragedy And in the other Comedy⁠— Masks for the soul. Laugh with me. You would laugh! Weep with me. You would weep! Tears are my laughter. Laughter is my pain. Cry at my grinning mo...

The shadows Of too many nights of love Have fallen beneath your eyes. Your eyes, So full of pain and passion, So full of lies. So full of pain and passion, Soledad, So deeply scarred, So still with si...

Ah, My black one, Thou art not beautiful Yet thou hast A loveliness Surpassing beauty. Oh, My black one, Thou art not good Yet thou hast A purity Surpassing goodness. Ah, My black one, Thou art not lu...

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 ev...

The sounds Of the Harlem night Drop one by one into stillness. The last player-piano is closed. The last victrola ceases with the “Jazz Boy Blues.” The last crying baby sleeps And the night becomes St...

I would be simple again, Simple and clean Like the earth, Like the rain, Nor ever know, Dark Harlem, The wild laughter Of your mirth Nor the salt tears Of your pain. Be kind to me, Oh, great dark city...

Play that thing, Jazz band! Play it for the lords and ladies, For the dukes and counts, For the whores and gigolos, For the American millionaires, And the school teachers Out for a spree. Play it, Jaz...

Because my mouth Is wide with laughter And my throat Is deep with song, You do not think I suffer after I have held my pain So long. Because my mouth Is wide with laughter, You do not hear My inner cr...

What jungle tree have you slept under, Midnight dancer of the jazzy hour? What great forest has hung its perfume Like a sweet veil about your bower? What jungle tree have you slept under, Night-dark g...

Would That I were a jewel, A shattered jewel, That all my shining brilliants Might fall at thy feet, Thou dark one. Would That I were a garment, A shimmering, silken garment, That all my folds Might w...

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? ...

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 you...

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 sun...

I have been a seeker Seeking a flaming star, And the flame-white star Has burned my hands Even from afar. Walking in a dream-dead world Circled by iron bars I sought a singing star’s Wild beauty.⁠— No...

My little dark baby, My little earth-thing, My little love-one, What shall I sing For your lullaby? Stars, Stars, A necklace of stars Winding the night. My little black baby, My dark body’s baby, What...

There Is no sweetness In the kiss Of a mouth Unwarm and dead, And even passion’s Flaming bliss Turns ashen In a charnel bed. Salome Of the wine-red lips, What would you with death’s head?...

Love is the master of the ring And life a circus tent. What is this silly song you sing? Love is the master of the ring. I am afraid! Afraid of Love And of Love’s bitter whip! Afraid, Afraid of Love A...

In de middle of de winter, Snow all over de ground. In de middle of de winter, Snow all over de ground⁠— ’Twas de night befo’ Christmas Ma good man turned me down. Don’ know’s I’d mind his goin’ But h...

Ma man’s a gypsy Cause he never does come home. Ma man’s a gypsy⁠— He never does come home. I’m gonna be a gypsy woman Fer I can’t stay here alone. Once I was in Memphis, I mean Tennessee. Once I was ...

When ma man looks at me He knocks me off ma feet. When ma man looks at me He knocks me off ma feet. He’s got those ’lectric-shockin’ eyes an’ De way he shocks me sho is sweet. He kin play a banjo. Lor...

Love Is a ripe plum Growing on a purple tree. Taste it once And the spell of its enchantment Will never let you be. Love Is a bright star Glowing in far Southern skies. Look too hard And its burning f...

Ideals are like the stars, Always above our reach. Humbly I tried to learn, More humbly did I teach. On all honest virtues I sought to keep firm hold. I wanted to be a good man Though I pinched my sou...

Cabaret, cabaret! That’s where ma man an’ me go. Cabaret, cabaret! That’s where we go⁠— Leaves de snow outside An’ our troubles at de door. Jazz band, jazz band! Ma man an’ me dance. When I cuddles up...

Sweet girls, sweet girls, Listen here to me. All you sweet girls, Listen here to me: Gin an’ whiskey Kin make you lose yo’ ’ginity. I used to be a good chile, Lawd, in Sunday School. Used to be a good...

I went to de gypsy, De gypsy took hold o’ my hand. Went to de gypsy, Gypsy took hold o’ my hand. She looked at me and tole me Chile, you gonna lose yo’ man. These fortune tellers Never tell me nothin’...

They put ma body in de ground, Ma soul went flyin’ o’ de town. Lord Jesus! Went flyin’ to de stars an’ moon A shoutin’ God, I’s comin’ soon. O Jesus! Lord in heaben, Crown on His head, Says don’t be ’...

Ma baby lives across de river An’ I ain’t got no boat. She lives across de river, I ain’t got no boat. I ain’t a good swimmer An’ I don’t know how to float. Wide, wide river ’Tween ma love an’ me. Wid...

De railroad bridge’s A sad song in de air. De railroad bridge’s A sad song in de air. Ever time de trains pass I wants to go somewhere. I went down to de station. Ma heart was in ma mouth. Went down t...

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 wi...

Poetry should treat Of lofty things Soaring thoughts And birds with wings. The Muse of Poetry Should not know That roses In manure grow. The Muse of Poetry Should not care That earthly pain Is everywh...

The little flowers of yesterday Have all forgotten May. The last gold leaf Has turned to brown. The last bright day is grey. The cold of winter comes apace And you have gone away....

Oh, white-faced mimes, May rose leaves Cover you like snow. And may Pierrette, The faithful, Rest forever with Pierrot....

The years Fall like dry leaves From the top-less tree Of eternity. Does it matter That another leaf has fallen?...

Within this grave I lie, Yes, I. Why laugh, good people, Or why cry? Within this grave Lies nothing more Than I....

To worship At the altar of Beauty, To feel her loveliness and pain, To thrill At the wonder of her gorgeous moon Or the sharp, swift, silver swords Of falling rain. To walk in a golden garden When an ...

Goin’ down de road, Lawd, Goin’ down de road. Down de road, Lawd, Way, way down de road. Got to find somebody To help me carry dis load. Road’s in front o’ me, Nothin’ to do but walk. Road’s in front ...

I got to leave this town. It’s a lonesome place. Got to leave this town cause It’s a lonesome place. A po’, po’ boy can’t Find a friendly face. Goin’ down to de river Flowin’ deep an’ slow. Goin’ down...

Play de blues for me. Play de blues for me. No other music ’Ll ease ma misery. Sing a soothin’ song. Said a soothin’ song, Cause de man I love’s done Done me wrong. Can’t you understand, O, understand...

Cause you don’t love me Is awful, awful hard. Gypsy done showed me Ma 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 ...

At de feet o’ Jesus, Sorrow like a sea. Lordy, let yo’ mercy Come driftin’ down on me. At de feet o’ Jesus, At yo’ feet I stand. O, ma little Jesus, Please reach out yo’ hand....

If you loves me Help me when I’m down an’ out. If you loves me Help me when I’m down an’ out. Cause I’m a po’ gal that Nobody gives a damn about. ’Stalment man’s done took ma clothes An’ rent time’s m...

Singing black boatmen An August morning In the thick white fog at Sekondi Coming out to take cargo From anchored alien ships, You do not know the fog We strange so-civilized ones Sail in always....

Shall I tell you of my old, old dreams Lost at the earth’s strange turnings, Some in the sea when the waves foamed high, Some in a garret candle’s burnings? Shall I tell you of bitter, forgotten dream...

Four walls can hold Oh, so much pain: Four walls that shield From the wind and rain. Four walls can keep Oh, so much sorrow Garnered from yesterday And held for tomorrow....

Love Is a brown man’s fist With hard knuckles Crushing the lips, Blackening the eyes⁠— Hit me again, Says Clorinda....

I had ma clothes cleaned Just like new. I put ’em on but I still feels biue. I bought a new hat, Sho is fine, But I wish I had back that Old gal o’ mine. I got new shoes⁠— They don’t hurt ma feet, But...

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...

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...

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?...

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....

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 your...

Ma sweet good man has Packed his trunk and left. Ma sweet good man has Packed his trunk and left. Nobody to love me: I’m gonna kill ma self. I’m gonna buy me a knife with A blade ten inches long. Gonn...

When hard luck overtakes you Nothin’ for you to do. When hard luck overtakes you Nothin’ for you to do. Gather up yo’ fine clothes An’ sell ’em to de Jew. Jew takes yo’ fine clothes, Gives you a dolla...

When I was home de Sunshine seemed like gold. When I was home de Sunshine seemed like gold. Since I come up North de Whole damn world’s turned cold. I was a good boy, Never done no wrong. Yes, I was a...

I’m waitin’ for de springtime When de tulips grow⁠— Sweet, sweet springtime When de tulips grow; Cause if I’d die in de winter They’d bury me under snow. Un’neath de snow, Lawd, Oh, what would I do? U...

Dusk dark On Railroad Avenue. Lights in the fish joints, Lights in the pool rooms. A box-car some train Has forgotten In the middle of the Block. A player piano, A victrola. 942 Was the number. A boy ...

I got a job now Runnin’ an elevator In the Dennison Hotel in Jersey. Job ain’t no good though. No money around. Jobs are just chances Like everthing else. Maybe a little luck now, Maybe not. Maybe a g...

O, sweep of stars over Harlem streets, O, little breath of oblivion that is night; A city building To a mother’s song. A city building To a lullabye. Dark boy, Reach up your hand and take a star Out o...

Clean the spitoons, boy. Detroit, Chicago, Atlantic City, Palm Beach. Clean the spitoons. The steam in hotel kitchens, And the smoke in hotel lobbies, And the slime in hotel spitoons: Part of my life....

That little yaller gal Wid blue-green eyes: If her daddy ain’t white Would be a surprise. She don’t drink gin An’ she don’t like corn. I asked her one night Where she was born. An’ she say, Honey, I d...

Now lookahere, gal, Don’t you talk ’bout me. I got mo’ hair ’n you evah did see, An’ if I ain’t high yaller I ain’t coal black, So what you said ’bout me You bettah take it back. Now, listen, Corrine,...

Play it once. O, play some more. Charlie is a gambler An’ Sadie is a whore. A glass o’ whiskey An’ a glass o’ gin: Strut, Mr. Charlie, Till de dawn comes in. Pawn yo’ gold watch An’ diamond ring. Git ...

Everybody Half-pint⁠— Gin? No, make it loves my baby corn. You like liquor, don’t you, honey? but my baby Sure. Kiss me, don’t love nobody daddy. but me. Say! Everybody Yes? wants my baby I’m your but...

She Who searched for lovers In the night Has gone the quiet way Into the still, Dark land of death Beyond the rim of day. Now like a little lonely waif She walks An endless street And gives her kiss t...

Sleek black boys in a cabaret. Jazz-band, jazz-band⁠— Play, play, play! Tomorrow⁠ ⁠… who knows? Dance today! White girls’ eyes Call gay black boys. Black boys’ lips Grin jungle joys. Dark brown girls ...

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?...

Hey! Hey! That’s what the Blues singers say. Singing minor melodies They laugh, Hey! Hey! My man’s done left me, Chile, he’s gone away. My good man’s left me, Babe, he’s gone away. Now the cryin’ blue...

The rhythm of life Is a jazz rhythm, Honey. The gods are laughing at us. The broken heart of love, The weary, weary heart of pain⁠— Overtones, Undertones, To the rumble of street cars, To the swish of...

The autumn leaves Are too heavy with color. The slender trees On the Vulcan Road Are dressed in scarlet and gold Like young courtesans Waiting for their lovers. But soon The winter winds Will strip th...

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’...

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. Ros...

Come, Let us roam the night together Singing. I love you. Across The Harlem roof-tops Moon is shining. Night sky is blue. Stars are great drops Of golden dew. In the cabaret The jazz-band’s playing. I...

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....

I work all day, Said Simple John, Myself a house to buy. I work all day, Said Simple John, But Pierrot wondered why. For Pierrot loved the long white road, And Pierrot loved the moon, And Pierrot love...

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...

With gypsies and sailors, Wanderers of the hills and seas, I go to seek my fortune. With pious folk and fair I must have a parting. But you will not miss me⁠— You who live between the hills And have n...

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....

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, ki...

How still, How strangely still The water is today. It is not good For water To be so still that way....

God having a hemorrhage, Blood coughed across the sky, Staining the dark sea red, That is sunset in the Caribbean....

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....

We buried him high on a windy hill, But his soul went out to sea. I know, for I heard, when all was still, His sea-soul say to me: Put no tombstone at my head, For here I do not make my bed. Strew no ...

How quiet It is in this sick room Where on the bed A silent woman lies between two lovers⁠— Life and Death, And all three covered with a sheet of pain....

Mercedes is a jungle-lily in a death house. Mercedes is a doomed star. Mercedes is a charnel rose. Go where gold Will fall at the feet of your beauty, Mercedes. Go where they will pay you well For you...

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,...

Since I left you, Anne, I have seen nothing but you. Every day Has been your face, And every night your hand, And every road Your voice calling me. And every rock and every flower and tree Has been a ...

In the mist of the moon I saw you, O, Nanette, And you were lovelier than the moon. You were darkness, And the body of darkness. And light, And the body of light. In the mist of the moon I saw you, Da...

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 you hurt her: Gonna r...

Clutching at trees and clawing rocks And panting and climbing Until he reached the top A tiger in India Surmounted a cliff one day When the hunters were behind him And his lair was far away. A black a...

Where most surely comes a day When all the sweets you’ve gourged Will turn your stomach sick And all the friends you’ve loved Will go away And every gold swift hour Will be an hour of pain And every s...

Because you are to me a song I must not sing you overlong. Because you are to me a prayer I cannot say you everywhere. Because you are to me a rose You will not stay when summer goes....

Let’s go see old Abe Sitting in the marble and the moonlight, Sitting lonely in the marble and the moonlight, Quiet for ten thousand centuries, old Abe. Quiet for a million, million centuries. Quiet⁠—...

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 o...

Heard de owl a hootin’, Knowed somebody’s ’bout to die. Heard de owl a hootin’, Knowed somebody’s ’bout to die. Put ma head un’neath de kiver, Started in to moan an’ cry. Hound dawg’s barkin’ Means he...

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....

You were the last bulwark of my dreams, And now you, too, have tumbled down into the dust. You, too, are no more than a broken lie. Something came between us green and slimy like sickly laughter and a...

Let me become dead eyed Like a fish⁠— I’m sure then I’d be wise For all the wise men I’ve seen Have had dead eyes. Let me learn to fit all things Into law and rule: I’d be the proper person then To te...

Raindrops On the crumbling walls Of tradition, Sunlight Across mouldy pits Of yesterday. Oh, Wise old men, What do you say About the fiddles And the jazz And the loud Hey! Hey! About the dancing girls...

The naughty child Who ventured to go cut flowers, Fell into the mill-pond And was drowned. But the good children all Are living yet, Nice folks now In a very nice town....

She lived in sinful happiness And died in pain, But she danced in sunshine And laughed in rain. She went one summer morning When flowers spread the plain But she told my mother She was coming back aga...

Ma Lord ain’t no stuck up man. Ma Lord, he ain’t proud. When he goes a walkin’ He gives me his hand. You ma friend, he ’lowed. Ma Lord knows what it is to work. He knows how to pray. Ma Lord’s life wa...

Men who ride strange wild horses Down dangerous glens and glades, Men who draw keen sharp swords, Toledo or Damascus blades, Men who swear and laugh and love And live and sing like troubadours⁠— Wrink...

Gay little devils That hide in gin And tickle black boys Under the chin And make them laugh, Gay little devils That lurk in kisses, And shine in the eyes Of ebony misses, Shine in their eyes: Whee‑e‑e...

Here I sit with my belly full And he who might have been my brother Walks hungry in the rain. Here I sit with my belly full And she I might have loved Seeks someone in the shadows To whom she may sell...

It’s because you are so young⁠— You do not understand. But we are old As the jungle trees That bloomed forever, Old as the forgotten rivers That flowed into the earth. Surely we know what you do not k...

Once you were beautiful⁠— Now, Hunched in the cold, Nobody cares That you are old. Once you were lovely⁠— Now, In the street, No one remembers Your lips were sweet. Oh, withered old woman Of rue Fonta...

I know now That Notre Dame is in Paris. And the Seine is more to me now Than a wriggling line on a map Or a name in travel stories. I know now There is a Crystal Palace in Antwerp Where a hundred wome...

I take my dreams And make of them a bronze vase, And a wide round fountain With a beautiful statue in its center, And a song with a broken heart, And I ask you: Do you understand my dreams? Sometimes ...

Sun’s a settin’, This is what I’m gonna sing. Sun’s a settin’, This is what I’m gonna sing: I feels de blues a comin’, Wonder what de blues’ll bring?...

Sun’s a risin’, This is gonna be ma song. Sun’s a risin’, This is gonna be ma song. I could be blue but I been blue all night long....

I’m a bad, bad man Cause everbody tells me so. I’m a bad, bad man. Everbody tells me so. I takes ma meanness and ma licker Everwhere I go. I beats ma wife an’ I beats ma side gal too. Beats ma wife an...

Starter! Her face is pale In the doorway light. Her lips blood red And her skin blue white. Taxi! I’m tired. Deep⁠ ⁠… River.⁠ ⁠… O, God, please! The river and the moon hold memories. Cornets play. Dan...

Only dumb guys fight. If I wasn’t dumb I wouldn’t be fightin’. I could make six dollars a day On the docks And I’d save more than I do now. Only dumb guys fight....

Lemme roll ’em, boy. I got ma tail curled! If a seven don’t come ’Leven ain’t far away. An’ if I craps, Dark baby, Trouble Don’t last all de time. Hit ’em, bones!...

Carried me to de court, Judge was settin’ there. Looked all around me, Didn’t have a friend nowhere. Judge Pierce he says, Mary. Old Judge says, Mary Jane, Ever time I mounts this bench I sees yo’ fac...

O, you can’t find a buddy Any old time ’Ll help you out When you ain’t got a dime. He was a friend o’ mine. They called him Do Dirty Cause he was black An’ had cut his gal An’ shot a man in de back. M...

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!...

Life For him Must be The shivering of A great drum Beaten with swift sticks Then at the closing hour The lights go out And there is no music at all And death becomes An empty cabaret And eternity an u...

Listen to yo’ prophets, Little Jesus! Listen to yo’ saints!...

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 w...

I’m deep in trouble, Nobody to understand, Lord, Lord! Deep in trouble, Nobody to understand, O, Lord! Gonna pray to ma Jesus, Ask him to gimme His hand. Ma Lord! I’m moanin’, moanin’, Nobody cares ju...

De angels wings is white as snow, O, white as snow, White as snow. De angels wings is white as snow, But I drug ma wings In de dirty mire. O, I drug ma wings All through de fire. But de angels wings i...

Have mercy, Lord! Po’ an’ black An’ humble an’ lonesome An’ a sinner in yo’ sight. Have mercy, Lord!...

I broke ma heart this mornin’. Ain’t got no heart no mo’. Next time a man comes near me Gonna shut an’ lock ma door Cause they treats me mean⁠— The ones I loves. They always treats me mean....

I works all day Wid a pick an’ a shovel. Comes home at night⁠— It ain’t nothin’ but a hovel. I calls for ma woman When I opens de door. She’s out in de street⁠— Ain’t nothin’ but a ’hore, I does her g...

Albert! Hey, Albert! Don’t you play in dat road. You see dem trucks A goin’ by. One run ovah you An’ you die. Albert, don’t you play in dat road....

I ain’t gonna mistreat ma Good gal any more. I’m just gonna kill her Next time she makes me sore. I treats her kind but She don’t do me right. She fights an’ quarrels most Ever night. I can’t have no ...

Standin’ by de lonesome riverside After de boat’s done gone, Po’ weary me Won’t be nobody’s bride Cause I is long gone wrong. Standin’ by de weary riverside When de boat comes in, Po’ lonesome me Won’...

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....

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 Ful...

Put on yo’ red silk stockings, Black gal. Go out an’ let de white boys Look at yo’ legs. Ain’t nothin’ to do for you, nohow, Round this town⁠— You’s too pretty. Put on yo’ red silk stockings, gal, An’...

I’m gonna walk to de graveyard ’Hind ma friend Miss Cora Lee. Gonna walk to de graveyard ’Hind ma dear friend Cora Lee Cause when I’m dead some Body’ll have to walk behind me. I’m goin’ to de po’ hous...

I went to ma daddy, Says Daddy I have got de blues. Went to ma daddy, Says Daddy I have got de blues. Ma daddy says Honey Can’t you bring no better news? I cried on his shoulder but He turned his back...

The sun, Like the red yolk of a rotten egg, Falls behind the roller-coaster And the horizon sticks With a putrid odor of colors. Down on the beach A little Jewish tailor from the Bronx, With a bad sto...

You wound my soul with a thousand spears, You bathe my wounds in a flood of tears, Nonette. You give me a rose whose breath is sweet, Whose petals are poison and death to eat, Nonette. And when I am d...

Ma old time daddy Came back home last night. His face was pale an’ His eyes didn’t look just right. He says to me I’m Comin’ home to you So sick an’ lonsome I don’t know what to do. O, men treats wome...

I hate to die this way with the quiet Over everything like a shroud. I’d rather die where the band’s a playin’ Noisy and loud. I’d rather die the way I lived⁠— Drunk and rowdy and gay; God! Why did yo...

Who cares About the hurt in your heart? Make a song like this for a jazz band to play: Nobody cares. Nobody cares. Make a song like that From your lips. Nobody cares....

She knows The end of the evening will come⁠— It has come before. And if it should never come again, Well⁠— Just that much more A bore....

Dear lovely Death That taketh all things under wing⁠— Never to kill⁠— Only to change Into some other thing This suffering flesh, To make it either more or less, Yet not again the same⁠— Dear lovely De...

Plant your toes in the cool swamp mud; Step and leave no track. Hurry, sweating runner! The hounds are at your back. No, I didn’t touch her. White flesh ain’t for me. Hurry! Black boy, hurry! Or they’...

Strange, That in this nigger place I should meet life face to face; When, for years, I had been seeking Life in places gentler speaking⁠— Before I came to this vile street And found Life⁠—stepping on ...

On Anne Spencer’s table There lies an unsharpened pencil⁠— As though she has left unwritten Many things she knows to write....

Desire weaves its fantasy of dreams, And all the world becomes a garden close In which we wander, you and I together, Believing in the symbol of the rose, Believing only in the heart’s bright flower⁠—...

Death is a tower To which the soul ascends To spend a meditative hour⁠— That never ends....

In ships all over the world The English comb their hair for dinner, Stand watch on the bridge, Guide by strange stars, Take on passengers, Slip up hot rivers, Nose across lagoons, Bargain for trade, B...

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...

World-wide dusk Of dear dark faces Driven before an alien wind, Scattered like seed From far-off places Growing in soil That’s strange and thin, Hybrid plants In another’s garden, Flowers In a land Th...

Let all who will Eat quietly the bread of shame. I cannot, Without complaining loud and long, Tasting its bitterness in my throat, And feeling to my very soul Its wrong. For honest work You proffer me...

All day subdued, polite Kind, thoughtful to the faces that are white. O, tribal dance! O, drums! O, veldt at night! Forgotten watch-fires on a hill somewhere! O, songs that do not care! At six o’clock...

Merry Christmas, China, From the gun-boats in the river, Ten-inch shells for Christmas gifts, And peace on earth forever. Merry Christmas, India, To Gandhi in his cell, From righteous Christian Englan...