Po' Boy Blues - Langston Hughes

"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 good boy,
Never done no wrong,
But this world is weary
An' de road is hard an' long.

I fell in love with
A gal I thought was kind.
Fell in love with
A gal I thought was kind.
She made me lose ma money
An' almost lose ma mind.

Weary, weary,
Weary early in de morn.
Weary, weary,
Early, early in de morn.
I's so weary
I wish I'd never been born."

Again Hughes plays the role of storyteller, reciting a story from his early life. Yet this poem is not your everyday, mundane poem. Hughes adds his own urban flare to it that makes it sort of a catchy song as opposed to a poem. I chose this for my last and final post because I feel these sort of poems are the deeper roots of hip hop music which I have a passion for. This sort of spoken word storytelling evolved into a style of music. Nowadays it had changed mindsets completely, but in its early stages hip hop was just like Hughes, it told stories of hardship teamed up with catchy word choice.

Problems - Langston Hughes

"2 and 2 are 4.
4 and 4 are 8.

But what would happen
If the last 4 was late?

And how would it be
If one 2 was me?

Or if the first 4 was you
Divided by 2? "

Now it took me a while to figure this poem out which is why I chose to select it. Its a poem of equality, saying you can call it what you want, but in the end everyone is a person, no matter race, religion or skin color, we are all people. Within making a great point of equality, Hughes made sort of a little riddle of the reader to figure out, and when it is unmasked his point of equality is made.

Life Is Fine - Langston Hughes

"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--
I'll be dogged, sweet baby,
If you gonna see me die.

Life is fine! Fine as wine! Life is fine!"

Although this poem did not make as much of a political or cultural point, it still tells a great story of a man, most likely Hughes himself, who is depressed, yet the power of life keeps him going. What Hughes is saying is that no matter how harsh life can get sometimes, and there are times it will, that life is always worth living, you only have one life, live it to the fullest and don't waste it.

Justice - Langston Hughes

"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."

In a time of sincere discrimination against blacks, obviously justice was not blind. But towards the end of Hughes lifetime, many strides were taken for civil rights which led him to write this poem. It speaks about how at one point justice was not blind, it was biased to whites and whites only. Yet now, as the civil rights are being gained, justice became blind as it always should've been.

Jazzonia - Langston Hughes

"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 rivers of the soul!

Were Eve's eyes
In the first garden
Just a bit too bold?
Was Cleopatra gorgeous
In a gown of gold?

Oh, shining tree!
Oh, silver rivers of the soul!

In a whirling cabaret
Six long-headed jazzers play. "

Hughes speaks of his great love and passion for jazz music and the culture it brings. He mentions Harlem which at the time of Hughes was the center of the Harlem Renaissance. Hughes explains how Jazz was not only a genre of music, but a style of life as well. It was a fun, fast paced style of music that still conveyed a point of strong unity and class distinction.

Dreams - Langston Hughes

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

Langston Hughes is quickly becoming my favorite poet that I have researched throughout this blog process because he makes substantial points throughout his writings but is still modern enough for me to completely understand. He obviously uses metaphors and different figures of speech, but he does it in a way that is completely understandable yet still sounds very poetic and gets his point across.

Democracy - Langston Hughes

"Democracy will not come
Today, this year
Nor ever
Through compromise and fear.

I have as much right
As the other fellow has
To stand
On my two feet
And own the land.

I tire so of hearing people say,
Let things take their course.
Tomorrow is another day.
I do not need my freedom when I'm dead.
I cannot live on tomorrow's bread.

Freedom
Is a strong seed
Planted
In a great need.

I live here, too.
I want freedom
Just as you"

This is by far the most powerful piece I have read throughout this blog. Hughes said what all other African Americans were thinking at the time but did not have the forum to express it as Hughes had. Not only did he have the exposure to say it, but he did it so beautifully. Hughes made his point in a way that is understandable and comprehendible to the general public and politicians at the time.