black
grey
blue
red
brown
white

The calm, Cool face of the river, Asked me for a kiss.

Langston Hughes

One of the great difficulties about being a member of a minority race is that so many kindhearted, well-meaning bores gather around to help.
LANGSTON HUGHES

Difficult Greatness Help Minority Race
The rain plays a little sleep song on our roof at night And I love the rain.
LANGSTON HUGHES

Love Myself Night Play Rain Song
We younger Negro artists who create now intend to express our individual dark-skinned selves without fear or shame. If white people are pleased we are glad. If they aren?t it doesn?t matter.
LANGSTON HUGHES

Artist Creation Darkness Expression Happiness People Skin White Young
There’s a certain amount of traveling in a dream deferred.
LANGSTON HUGHES

Dreams Lost Travel
Reach Up Your Hand… and take a star.
LANGSTON HUGHES

Hands Reach Star
Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.
LANGSTON HUGHES

Hard Time Life Myself Struggle
O, let my land be a land where Liberty Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath, But opportunity is real, and life is free, Equality is in the air we breathe.
LANGSTON HUGHES

Breathe Equality Freedom Land Liberty Life Myself Patriot
My seeking has been to explain and illuminate the Negro condition in America and obliquely that of all human kind.
LANGSTON HUGHES

Condition Explanation Human Kind Seek
Gather up In the arms of your love—Those who expect No love from above.
LANGSTON HUGHES

Expectation Love Yourself
Love is a naked shadow, On a gnarled and naked tree.
LANGSTON HUGHES

Love Naked Shadow Tree Yourself
I am a Negro: Black as the night is black, Black like the depths of my Africa.
LANGSTON HUGHES

Black Identity Myself Personality
We build our temples for tomorrow, strong as we know how, and we stand on top of the mountain, free within ourselves.
LANGSTON HUGHES

Build Freedom Mountain Ourselves Stand Strong Temple
Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed – Let it be that great strong land of love Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme That any man be crushed by one above.
LANGSTON HUGHES

Dreams Greatness Kind Man Oneself Strong
Humor is laughing at what you haven’t got when you ought to have it.
LANGSTON HUGHES

Laughter Yourself
Most musicians remain poor. But the music that they make, even if it does not bring them millions, gives millions of people happiness.
LANGSTON HUGHES

Happiness Music People Poor
Life is a system of half-truths and lies, Opportunistic, convenient evasion.
LANGSTON HUGHES

Life Lying Opportunity System Truth
Life dosent frighten me at all.
LANGSTON HUGHES

Fear Life Myself One Liner Scare
If you want to honor me, give some young boy or girl who’s coming along trying to create arts and write and compose and sing and act and paint and dance and make something out of the beauties of the Negro race-give that child some help.
LANGSTON HUGHES

Beautiful Children Help Honor Man Race Respect Woman Writing Young
When poems stop talking about the moon and begin to mention poverty, trade unions, color, color lines and colonies, somebody tells the police.
LANGSTON HUGHES

Beginning Color Moon Poem Police Stop Talk
The only way to get a thing done is to start to do it, then keep on doing it, and finally you’ll finish it.
LANGSTON HUGHES

Finish Start Way Yourself
But there are certain very practical things American Negro writers can do. And must do. There’s a song that says, “the time ain’t long.” That song is right. Something has got to change in America-and change soon. We must help that change to come.
LANGSTON HUGHES

Change Difference Help Practical Time Transformation Writing
Why should I want to be white? I am a Negro – and beautiful!
LANGSTON HUGHES

Acceptance Beautiful Black Myself Self Love White
I don’t dare start thinking in the morning. I don’t dare start thinking in the morning. If I thought thoughts in bed, Them thoughts would bust my head– So I don’t dare start thinking in the morning.
LANGSTON HUGHES

Dare Morning Myself Start Thinking
If the government can set aside some spot for a elk to be a elk without being bothered, or a buffalo to be a buffalo without being shot down, there ought to be some place where a Negro can be a Negro without being Jim Crowed.
LANGSTON HUGHES

Animal Be Yourself Equality Government Oppression Place Safety
Blues had the pulse beat of the people who keep on going.
LANGSTON HUGHES

Hard Time Inspirational Motivational People
Politics in any country in the world is dangerous. For the poet, politics in any country had better be disguised as poetry. Politics can be the graveyard of the poet. And only poetry can be his resurrection.
LANGSTON HUGHES

Country Dangerous Grave Himself Poet Poetry Politics World
The first of the month falls every month, too, North or South. And them white folks who sends bills never forgets to send them-the phone bill, the furniture bill, the water bill, the gas bill, insurance, house rent.
LANGSTON HUGHES

Fall Forget Home Insurance Phone

The calm, Cool face of the river, Asked me for a kiss.

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The calm, Cool face of the river, Asked me for a kiss.

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