Langston Hughes

By what
The white kidsI ain't sent:
I know I
Be President

Where is the Jim Crow section On this merry-go-round,
Mister, cause I want to ride
Down South where I come from White and colored Can't sit side by side
Down South on the train There's a Jim Crow car

What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore—

I dream a world where
No other man will scorn,
Where love will bless the
And peace its paths adornI dream a world where

We passed their graves:
The dead men there,
Winners or losers,
Did not care

I catch the pattern Of your
Before you speakI do not
To hear a word
In your

I take my dreams and make of them a bronze vaseand a 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 you say you do,

Good morning, daddy
Ain't you
The boogie-woogie
Of a dream deferred

In time of silver
The earth puts forth new life again,
Green grasses
And flowers lift their heads,

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.

My old mule,
He's gota grin on his face
He's been a mule so
He's forgotten about his race

My name is Johnson--Madam Alberta K
The Madam stands for business
I'm smart that way
I had