Tag: jim crow

“The Gift to Sing” by James Weldon Johnson (1871 – 1938)

Post author By TDarris
Post date June 29, 2016
No Comments on “The Gift to Sing” by James Weldon Johnson (1871 – 1938)

Sometimes the mist overhangs my path,
And blackening clouds about me cling;
But, oh, I have a magic way
To turn the gloom to cheerful day—
I softly sing.

And if the way grows darker still,
Shadowed by Sorrow’s somber wing,
With glad defiance in my throat,
I pierce the darkness with a note,
And sing, and sing.

I brood not over the broken past,
Nor dread whatever time may bring;
No nights are dark, no days are long,
While in my heart there swells a song,
And I can sing.

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African-American America American American Poetry Claude McKay Uncategorized United States

“After the Winter” by Claude McKay (1889–1948)

Post author By TDarris
Post date April 13, 2016
No Comments on “After the Winter” by Claude McKay (1889–1948)

Some day, when trees have shed their leaves

And against the morning’s white

The shivering birds beneath the eaves

Have sheltered for the night,

We’ll turn our faces southward, love,

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