$Gwendolyn Brooks Quote - It frightens me to realize that, if I had died before the age of fifty, I would have died a ‘Negro’ fraction.$
$Gwendolyn Brooks Quote - It frightens me to realize that, if I had died before the age of fifty, I would have died a ‘Negro’ fraction.$
$Gwendolyn Brooks Quote - It frightens me to realize that, if I had died before the age of fifty, I would have died a ‘Negro’ fraction.$
$Gwendolyn Brooks Quote - It frightens me to realize that, if I had died before the age of fifty, I would have died a ‘Negro’ fraction.$
$Gwendolyn Brooks Quote - It frightens me to realize that, if I had died before the age of fifty, I would have died a ‘Negro’ fraction.$
$Gwendolyn Brooks Quote - It frightens me to realize that, if I had died before the age of fifty, I would have died a ‘Negro’ fraction.$

black
grey
blue
red
brown
white

It frightens me to realize that, if I had died before the age of fifty, I would have died a ‘Negro’ fraction.

Gwendolyn Brooks

Writing is a delicious agony.
GWENDOLYN BROOKS

Delicious One Liner Pain Poet Writing
What, what am I to do with all of this life?
GWENDOLYN BROOKS

Life Myself Philosophy Unknown
Do not desire to fit in. Desire to oblige yourselves to lead.
GWENDOLYN BROOKS

Brave Desire Inspirational Leadership
Very early in life I became fascinated with the wonders language can achieve. And I began playing with words.
GWENDOLYN BROOKS

Achievement Beginning Early Fascinate Language Life Play Wonder Word
One reason cats are happier than people is that they have no newspapers.
GWENDOLYN BROOKS

Animal Cat Happiness Media News Reason
Do not be afraid of no, Who has so far, so very far to go.
GWENDOLYN BROOKS

Afraid Journey Path Travel
Live not for Battles Won. Live not for The-End-of-the-Song. Live in the along.
GWENDOLYN BROOKS

Battle End Inspirational Live Song Win
Each body has its art.
GWENDOLYN BROOKS

Art Body One Liner
The forties and fifties were years of high poet-incense; the language-flowers were thickly sweet. Those flowers whined and begged white folks to pick them, to find them lovable. Then the ’60s: Independent fire!
GWENDOLYN BROOKS

Fire Flower Independent Language Poet Sweet
Exhaust the little moment. Soon it dies. And be it gash or gold it will not come again in this identical guise.
GWENDOLYN BROOKS

Death Gold Identity Moments
People are so in need, in need of help. People want so much that they do not know.
GWENDOLYN BROOKS

Help Knowledge Need People
There are no magics or elves or timely godmothers to guide us. We are lost, must wizard a track through our own screaming weed.
GWENDOLYN BROOKS

Guide Lost Magic Scream Time
As you get older, you find that often the wheat, disentangling itself from the chaff, comes out to meet you.
GWENDOLYN BROOKS

Food Growth Old Yourself
I felt that I had to write. Even if I had never been published, I knew that I would go on writing, enjoying it and experiencing the challenge.
GWENDOLYN BROOKS

Challenge Enjoyment Experience Feeling Publish Writing
Beware the easy griefs / that fool and fuel nothing.
GWENDOLYN BROOKS

Easy Fools Fuel Grief
Life must be aromatic. There must be scent, somehow there must be some.
GWENDOLYN BROOKS

Life Perfume Sweet
I am a writer perhaps because I am not a talker. It has always been hard for me to say exactly what I mean in speech But if I have written a clumsiness, I may erase it.
GWENDOLYN BROOKS

Hard Mistake Myself Talk Writing
I know that the Black emphasis must be not against white but FOR Black.
GWENDOLYN BROOKS

Black White
I don’t like the idea of the black race being diluted out of existence. I like the idea of all of us being here.
GWENDOLYN BROOKS

Black Existence Ideas Myself Race
Exhaust the little moment soon it dies.
GWENDOLYN BROOKS

Death Moments Time
To be in love Is to touch things with a lighter hand. In yourself you stretch, you are well.
GWENDOLYN BROOKS

Hand Lights Love Touch Yourself
When you love a man, he becomes more than a body. His physical limbs expand, and his outline recedes, vanishes. He is rich and sweet and right. He is part of the world, the atmosphere, the blue sky and the blue water.
GWENDOLYN BROOKS

Blue Body Himself Love Man Rich Right Sweet Water World
We real cool. We Left school. We Lurk late. We Strike straight. We Sing sin. We Thin gin. We Jazz June. We Die soon.
GWENDOLYN BROOKS

Cool Death Reality Sing
It is brave to be involved. To be not fearful to be unresolved.
GWENDOLYN BROOKS

Brave Character Fear
No man can give me any word but Wait.
GWENDOLYN BROOKS

Man Patience Poet Wait Word Writing
With melted opals for my milk, Pearl-leaf for my cracker.
GWENDOLYN BROOKS

Milk Myself
Abortions will not let you forget. You remember the children you got that you did not get.
GWENDOLYN BROOKS

Children Death Forget Remember Yourself