Selected Poems of Langston Hughes Read online

  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.

  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!�
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  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,

  Cut
ting 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—