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October 16 I- The poem The poem was written between 1920 and 1930, It was published in 1931.It's one of LH's early poem. It belongs to the first selection entitled « Afro-American fragments » II- The Title By reading the title « October 16 », one may...

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...

Well, son, I'll tell you: Life for me ain't been no crystal stair. It's had tacks in it, And splinters, And boards torn up, And places with no carpet on the floor— Bare. But all the time I'se been a-climbin' on, And reachin' landin's, And turnin' corners,...

What can purge my heart Of the song And the sadness? What can purge my heart But the song Of the sadness? What can purge my heart Of the sadness Of the song? Do not speak of sorrow With dust in her hair, Or bits of dust in eyes A chance wind blows there....

I am a Negro: Black as the night is black, Black like the depths of my Africa. I’ve been a slave: Caesar told me to keep his door-steps clean. I brushed the boots of Washington. I’ve been a worker: Under my hand the pyramids arose. I made mortar for the...

1 Droning a drowsy syncopated tune, 2 Rocking back and forth to a mellow croon, 3 I heard a Negro play. 4 Down on Lenox Avenue the other night 5 By the pale dull pallor of an old gas light 6 He did a lazy sway .... 7 He did a lazy sway .... 8 To the tune...

I've known rivers: I've known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins. My soul has grown deep like the rivers. I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young. I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to...

Aunt Sue has a head full of stories. Aunt Sue has a whole heart full of stories. Summer nights on the front porch Aunt Sue cuddles a brown-faced child to her bosom And tells him stories. Black slaves Working in the hot sun, And black slaves Walking in...

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