today is the first day of Black History Month AND it's Langston Hughes' birthday. i'm probably more excited about the ladder, though. Black History (education) is an extended period for me. 10 years? 20 years? lifetime? who knows... and i think black people should stop hyping it up as this once a year...only at church...on first sunday type deal. this is your life; your people; YOUR history. it's quite sad that it has to be reduced to a 28 day month, but i suppose it has to be thrust somewhere into the national US psyche, so i'll take what i can get. and my facebook is going to be bombarded with poems, speeches, videos, book suggestions, quotes, links, and everything else i can think of to honor this month...and also to bring knowledge about all the cultures that have been forgotten, erased, ignored, and degraded.
anyway, i think Langston Hughes is someone everyone knows about, but not that many people really know his poetry. his thoughts on racism, blacks, god, and religion are all evident in his poetry and i love how he can pack so much into a 4 or 5 line stanza. i've already attacked my other blog with poems by Langston Hughes, so i'll just put a few on here.
God to the Hungry Child
hungry child,
i didn't make this world for you.
you didn't buy any stock in my railroad.
you didn't invest in my corporation.
where are your shares in standard oil?
i made the world for the rich.
and the will-be-rich
and the always-have-been-rich.
not for you,
Hungry Child.
The White Ones
i do not hate you,
for your faces are beautiful, too.
i do not hate you,
your faces are whirling lights of loveliness and splendor, too.
yet why do you torture me,
O, white strong ones,
why do you torture me?
Shadows
we run,
we run,
we cannot stand these shadows!
give us the sun.
we were not made
for shade,
for heavy shade,
and narrow space of stifling air
that these white things have made.
we run,
oh, God,
we run!
we must break through these shadows,
we must find the sun.
comment. think. criticize. share some poetry?
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