langston hughes
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What happens to a dream deferred, one effected by the natural boundaries of life?
Boundaries set by the people who do not wish for you to succeed and those who wish suffering upon you
In the morning her eyes paint the cities horizon.
Stretching and yawning.
Getting dressed; Her blue tapestry.
Opening the door to her apartment
She climbs down broken stairs.
It's payday Friday.
I, too, sing America.
I am determined.
They say I don’t have common sense
They don’t think I can manage myself.
But I know what I am capable of,
I know America
I can speak it
But not sing it
For I sing unusually
In a separate language
“Mi vida Americana”
I think God has a cruel sense of humor.
Because when I turned eleven and pleaded with all my might to become immortal,
I heard Him chuckle in the confides of the newly blackened space
I’ve known sunshine:
I’ve known the sun to dazzle any dreary day
And be seen as an indicator of God.
If you could only see all the dreams I’ve already given up on
A love of learning, unfortunately can only take you so far
That’s what I learned
Without a place to call to call my own
No house to call my home
Dear Mr. Hughes,
I would like to answer your question.
What happens to a dream deferred?
I write America, holding back the pain from her, the hurt from him, and the anger from themI’m a silently outspoken girl trying to prove that writing will get me farI can and will
When dreams long since are spent
and broken-
when a weary people can no longer
wait-
they will rise up, rise
from raisins and sores and rotten meat,
and they will speak.
