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.

God - Walt Whitman

"THOUGHT of the Infinite--the All!
Be thou my God.


Lover Divine, and Perfect Comrade!
Waiting, content, invisible yet, but certain,
Be thou my God.


Thou--thou, the Ideal Man!
Fair, able, beautiful, content, and loving,
Complete in Body, and dilate in Spirit,
Be thou my God.


O Death--(for Life has served its turn;) 10
Opener and usher to the heavenly mansion!
Be thou my God.


Aught, aught, of mightiest, best, I see, conceive, or know,
(To break the stagnant tie--thee, thee to free, O Soul,)
Be thou my God.


Or thee, Old Cause, when'er advancing;
All great Ideas, the races' aspirations,
All that exalts, releases thee, my Soul!
All heroisms, deeds of rapt enthusiasts,
Be ye my Gods! 20


Or Time and Space!
Or shape of Earth, divine and wondrous!
Or shape in I myself--or some fair shape, I, viewing, worship,
Or lustrous orb of Sun, or star by night:
Be ye my Gods."

Whitman speaks of his devotion to his one and only God. He poetically lists all the reasons how God has aided him throughout his lifetime. Although I cannot say I feel the same way, I can easily understand why people believe so heavily in their religions, it gives them a security that nothing else can.

The Ox Tamer - Walt Whitman

"IN a faraway northern county, in the placid, pastoral region,
Lives my farmer friend, the theme of my recitative, a famous Tamer of
Oxen:
There they bring him the three-year-olds and the four-year-olds, to
break them;
He will take the wildest steer in the world, and break him and tame
him;
He will go, fearless, without any whip, where the young bullock
chafes up and down the yard;
The bullock's head tosses restless high in the air, with raging eyes;
Yet, see you! how soon his rage subsides--how soon this Tamer tames
him:
See you! on the farms hereabout, a hundred oxen, young and old--and
he is the man who has tamed them;
They all know him--all are affectionate to him;
See you! some are such beautiful animals--so lofty looking! 10
Some are buff color'd--some mottled--one has a white line running
along his back--some are brindled,
Some have wide flaring horns (a good sign)--See you! the bright
hides;
See, the two with stars on their foreheads--See, the round bodies and
broad backs;
See, how straight and square they stand on their legs--See, what
fine, sagacious eyes;
See, how they watch their Tamer--they wish him near them--how they
turn to look after him!
What yearning expression! how uneasy they are when he moves away from
them:
--Now I marvel what it can be he appears to them, (books, politics,
poems depart--all else departs;)
I confess I envy only his fascination--my silent, illiterate friend,
Whom a hundred oxen love, there in his life on farms,
In the northern county far, in the placid, pastoral region."

This a story of a man of bravery and of great skill whose sole purpose is to tame oxen. As funny as it sounds Whitman describes the man as a fierce warrior who doesn't even use a whip to tame this huge beasts. The tamer gains great respect from all his loyal oxen, if not from anyone else.

Miracles - Walt Whitman

"WHY! who makes much of a miracle?
As to me, I know of nothing else but miracles,
Whether I walk the streets of Manhattan,
Or dart my sight over the roofs of houses toward the sky,
Or wade with naked feet along the beach, just in the edge of the
water,
Or stand under trees in the woods,
Or talk by day with any one I love--or sleep in the bed at night with
any one I love,
Or sit at table at dinner with my mother,
Or look at strangers opposite me riding in the car,
Or watch honey-bees busy around the hive, of a summer forenoon, 10
Or animals feeding in the fields,
Or birds--or the wonderfulness of insects in the air,
Or the wonderfulness of the sun-down--or of stars shining so quiet
and bright,
Or the exquisite, delicate, thin curve of the new moon in spring;
Or whether I go among those I like best, and that like me best--
mechanics, boatmen, farmers,
Or among the savans--or to the soiree--or to the opera,
Or stand a long while looking at the movements of machinery,
Or behold children at their sports,
Or the admirable sight of the perfect old man, or the perfect old
woman,
Or the sick in hospitals, or the dead carried to burial, 20
Or my own eyes and figure in the glass;
These, with the rest, one and all, are to me miracles,
The whole referring--yet each distinct, and in its place.

To me, every hour of the light and dark is a miracle,
Every cubic inch of space is a miracle,
Every square yard of the surface of the earth is spread with the
same,
Every foot of the interior swarms with the same;
Every spear of grass--the frames, limbs, organs, of men and women,
and all that concerns them,
All these to me are unspeakably perfect miracles.

To me the sea is a continual miracle; 30
The fishes that swim--the rocks--the motion of the waves--the ships,
with men in them,
What stranger miracles are there?"

Whitman's first line is "As to me, I know nothing but miracles." That is a very telling statement because in a philosophical way he is correct, everything is a miracle. I feel the same way as Whitman, whereas everything is a miracle, this world is an amazing place that many people take for granted. If Whitman felt this way in the 1800s i could only imagine how he'd feel in the present day with all the technological advances.

The Eagle - A.L. Tennyson

"He clasps the crag with crooked hands;
Close to the sun in lonely lands,
Ring'd with the azure world, he stands.
The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;
He watches from his mountain walls,
And like a thunderbolt he falls. "

Tennyson speaks about the incredible species of the eagle and the uniqueness of it. How it is the only of its kind that can see so many different sides of the world. One second it can be soaring past the sun, the next second it can be plummeting into the ocean. Yet as high and powerful as the eagle is, it too, like everything else, eventually falls to its death.

To A Butterfly - William Wordsworth

"STAY near me---do not take thy flight!
A little longer stay in sight!
Much converse do I find I thee,
Historian of my infancy !
Float near me; do not yet depart!
Dead times revive in thee:
Thou bring'st, gay creature as thou art!
A solemn image to my heart,
My father's family!

Oh! pleasant, pleasant were the days,
The time, when, in our childish plays,
My sister Emmeline and I
Together chased the butterfly!
A very hunter did I rush
Upon the prey:---with leaps and spring
I followed on from brake to bush;
But she, God love her, feared to brush
The dust from off its wings. "

The Butterfly is a symbol that connects Wordsworth to his past childhood memories that he so dearly misses. Yet as much as he loved the butterfly he realizes that it too must live out his dreams, so he has the courage, unlike his sister, to "dust from off its wings" and free the butterfly to enjoy his life as he should be.

The Lost Mistress - Robert Browning

"All's over, then: does truth sound bitter
As one at first believes?
Hark, 'tis the sparrows' good-night twitter
About your cottage eaves!

II.

And the leaf-buds on the vine are woolly,
I noticed that, to-day;
One day more bursts them open fully
---You know the red turns grey.

III.

To-morrow we meet the same then, dearest?
May I take your hand in mine?
Mere friends are we,---well, friends the merest
Keep much that I resign:

IV.

For each glance of the eye so bright and black,
Though I keep with heart's endeavour,---
Your voice, when you wish the snowdrops back,
Though it stay in my soul for ever!---

V.

Yet I will but say what mere friends say,
Or only a thought stronger;
I will hold your hand but as long as all may,
Or so very little longer! "

Browning speaks of the use and abuse of mistresses. He explains that no matter how close he says they are, no matter how much time they spend together, she will never be the wife she wants to be. She can do everything the wife does, yet will never be more than a filthy mistress.

I Hear America Singing - Walt Whitman

"I HEAR America singing, the varied carols I hear;
Those of mechanics--each one singing his, as it should be, blithe and
strong;
The carpenter singing his, as he measures his plank or beam,
The mason singing his, as he makes ready for work, or leaves off
work;
The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat--the deckhand
singing on the steamboat deck;
The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench--the hatter singing as
he stands;
The wood-cutter's song--the ploughboy's, on his way in the morning,
or at the noon intermission, or at sundown;
The delicious singing of the mother--or of the young wife at work--or
of the girl sewing or washing--Each singing what belongs to
her, and to none else;
The day what belongs to the day--At night, the party of young
fellows, robust, friendly,
Singing, with open mouths, their strong melodious songs."

Whitman is an everyday Joe off the street with a respect for others like himself. Here he writes of the working class of America, the woodcutters, the mechanics, the carpenters and the masons. The people that are truly the backbone of this country and made it what it is today. Whitman recognizes that without these people, there would never be a rebellion against the British and never be an America.

(The Soldier) - GM Hopkins

"Yes. Why do we áll, seeing of a soldier, bless him? bless
Our redcoats, our tars? Both these being, the greater part,
But frail clay, nay but foul clay. Here it is: the heart,
Since, proud, it calls the calling manly, gives a guess
That, hopes that, makesbelieve, the men must be no less;
It fancies, feigns, deems, dears the artist after his art;
And fain will find as sterling all as all is smart,
And scarlet wear the spirit of wár thére express.

Mark Christ our King. He knows war, served this soldiering through;
He of all can handle a rope best. There he bides in bliss
Now, and séeing somewhére some mán do all that man can do,
For love he leans forth, needs his neck must fall on, kiss,
And cry 'O Christ-done deed! So God-made-flesh does too:
Were I come o'er again' cries Christ 'it should be this'."

Hopkins speaks of the true mental and physical strain any and all soldiers go through when serving in war. He speaks of supporting his fellow Redcoats whenever he sees them and blesses their souls.

Nantucket - William Carlos Williams

"Flowers through the window
lavender and yellow

changed by white curtains –
Smell of cleanliness –

Sunshine of late afternoon –
On the glass tray

a glass pitcher, the tumbler
turned down, by which

a key is lying – And the
immaculate white bed "

Williams describes a place of near utopia throughout this poem. Speaks of places he loves that is near and dear to his heart, Nantucket. I've been going to Nantucket for the past three years and I can agree with Williams that is a place that is nearly perfect. There's a sort of feel about it where everyone's relaxed and loving life.

Solitude - Alexander Pope

"Happy the man, whose wish and care
A few paternal acres bound,
Content to breathe his native air
In his own ground.

Whose herds with milk, whose fields with bread,
Whose flocks supply him with attire;
Whose trees in summer yield shade,
In winter, fire.

Blest, who can unconcern'dly find
Hours, days, and years, slide soft away
In health of body, peace of mind,
Quiet by day.

Sound sleep by night; study and ease
Together mixed; sweet recreation,
And innocence, which most does please
With meditation.

Thus let me live, unseen, unknown;
Thus unlamented let me die;
Steal from the world, and not a stone
Tell where I lie. "

Here Pope explains that everything one needs to succeed in life can easily be found without the help of anyone else. Not only do you not need anyone else, but life goes by smoother without anyone around to both you. "Sound sleep by night; study and ease", if one is alone there is no distraction keeping him from his goals.

"Why do I love" You, Sir? - Emily Dickinson

"Why do I love" You, Sir?
Because—
The Wind does not require the Grass
To answer—Wherefore when He pass
She cannot keep Her place.

Because He knows—and
Do not You—
And We know not—
Enough for Us
The Wisdom it be so—

The Lightning—never asked an Eye
Wherefore it shut—when He was by—
Because He knows it cannot speak—
And reasons not contained—
—Of Talk—
There be—preferred by Daintier Folk—

The Sunrise—Sire—compelleth Me—
Because He's Sunrise—and I see—
Therefore—Then—
I love Thee— "

Although this poem was a little hard to understand with Dickinson's old style of writing, it is your classic love poem. Here Dickinson raises the big question everyone asks, Why is she in love? Throughout the poem she answers with metaphors to nature but the most clear one is "The Sunrise—Sire—compelleth Me—Because He's Sunrise—and I see—Therefore—Then—I love Thee—"

On a Tree Fallen Across The Road - Robert Frost

"The tree the tempest with a crash of wood
Throws down in front of us is not bar
Our passage to our journey's end for good,
But just to ask us who we think we are

Insisting always on our own way so.
She likes to halt us in our runner tracks,
And make us get down in a foot of snow
Debating what to do without an ax.

And yet she knows obstruction is in vain:
We will not be put off the final goal
We have it hidden in us to attain,
Not though we have to seize earth by the pole

And, tired of aimless circling in one place,
Steer straight off after something into space."

Just the same as my first few posts, this poem deals with overcoming adversity. Frost uses the metaphor of a tree laying across the road as an obstacle throughout life. He is saying that these obstacles are put there for a reason, so we can rise and overcome them and become stronger individuals.

As I Grew Older - Langston Hughes

"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.
Rose until it touched the sky--
The wall.
Shadow.
I am black.
I lie down in the shadow.
No longer the light of my dream before me,
Above me.
Only the thick wall.
Only the shadow.
My hands!
My dark hands!
Break through the wall!
Find my dream!
Help me to shatter this darkness,
To smash this night,
To break this shadow
Into a thousand lights of sun,
Into a thousand whirling dreams
Of sun! "

Just as Shakur had done in my previous posts, Hughes talks about overcoming adversity he is faced with being Black in a time clearly dominated by Whites. Hughes talks about as he gets older he becomes more aware of his surroundings and more aware of how to overcome them

In The Event of My Demise - Tupac Shakur

" In the event of my Demise
when my heart can beat no more
I Hope I Die For A Principle
or A Belief that I had Lived 4
I will die Before My Time
Because I feel the shadow's Depth
so much I wanted 2 accomplish
before I reached my Death
I have come 2 grips with the possibility
and wiped the last tear from My eyes
I Loved All who were Positive
In the event of my Demise"


This is probably the most telling about the personality of Tupac because obviously we all know he was killed but this just shows how he had already come to terms with dying before his time. This was clearly written many years before his death, but he was so wise and knew that because of his radical views and popularity that there would be many who hated him and wanted to see him dead. Yet he did not take it as many people would, he understood he would be dying for what he believed in even if no one else was there to stand up for him.

Jada - Tupac Shakur

"u r the omega of my heart
the foundation of my conception of love
when i think of what a black woman should be
its u that i first think of

u will never fully understand
how deeply my heart feels 4 u
i worry that we'll grow apart
and i'll end up losing u

u bring me 2 climax without sex
and u do it all with regal grace
u r my heart in human form
a friend i could never replace"


Although this is not a spectacular poem by any means i chose this one because i wanted to highlight his usage of bringing a sort of street slang into touching poetry. When he uses 'u' instead of 'you' or '2' instead of 'to', they're just a few terms that no other poets you know would think of using in poetry. Tupac Shakur wrote his poetry, but his own way. Also i thought this was interesting because this poem is written about Jada Pickett Smith who was one of his longtime childhood friends growing up that he obviously feels very deeply for.

I Cry - Tupac Shakur

"Sometimes when I'm alone
I Cry,
Cause I am on my own.
The tears I cry are bitter and warm.
They flow with life but take no form
I Cry because my heart is torn.
I find it difficult to carry on.
If I had an ear to confide in,
I would cry among my treasured friend,
but who do you know that stops that long,
to help another carry on.
The world moves fast and it would rather pass by.
Then to stop and see what makes one cry,
so painful and sad.
And sometimes...
I Cry
and no one cares about why."


By the way if you're reading these for all the "Choose your own" ones i'm going to do poems of Tupac Shakur because, not saying he should be on this list of elite poets, but i just want to prove that i'm not choosing his poems to be funny or just because i like his music. Tupac Shakur is a very talented poet who writes about very deep and sensitive subjects but gives sort of a younger, more rugged flare to it. This poem highlights the more sensitive side which i can relate because i too sometimes have feelings like this but feel as though i have no one to talk or relate to.

The Rose That Grew From Concrete - Tupac Shakur

"Did you hear about the rose that grew
from a crack in the concrete?
Proving nature's law is wrong it
learned to walk with out having feet.
Funny it seems, but by keeping it's dreams,
it learned to breathe fresh air.
Long live the rose that grew from concrete
when no one else ever cared."


Last year i read "The Rose That Grew From Concrete" as an independent reading book, and although people laugh when they hear it was a book of poetry written by Tupac Shakur, it's actually a beautiful collection of poems. Many see the rough, rugged side of him, but what many don't see is the softer, more sensitive side of Tupac. This poems is a person, himself, who everyone doubted and no one gave a chance, yet because of perseverance and hard work he pushed through the adversity and found success.

Soundtrack To My Life - KiD CuDi

"So now im in the cut, alcohol in the womb,
my hearts an open sword and hope it heals soon,
I live in a cocoon opposite of Cancun,
where it is never sunny the dark side of the moon,
so its moving right, i try to shed some light on the man,
not many people of this planet understand.

[Chorus]
I've got some issues that nobody can see
and all of these emotions are pourin' out of me
I bring them to the light for you
it's only right
this is the soundtrack to my life
the soundtrack to my life."

I specifically made this my first post because i think KiD CuDi really connects to the youth of our generation. He speaks of the things we like, things we dislike, and most of all the problems we encounter as young adults. Also along with the message he sends, he also makes good music that we can listen and relate to.