Poems List

Explore poems from our collection

Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes

Democracy

Democracy


Democracy will not come
Today, this year
Nor ever
Through compromise and fear.


I have as much r…

577
Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes

Deceased

Deceased


Harlem
Sent him home
in a long box-
Too dead
To know why:

The licker
Was lye.

708
Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes

Children's Rhymes

Children's Rhymes

By what sends
the white kids
I ain't sent:
I know I can't
be President.
What don't bug
them whi…

343
Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes

Cultural Exchange

Cultural Exchange

In the Quarter of the Negroes
Where the doors are doors of paper
Dust of dingy atoms
Blows a scratchy sound.
Am…

507
Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes

Brass Spittoons

Brass Spittoons

Clean the spittoons, boy.
Detroit,
Chicago,
Atlantic City,
Palm Beach.
Clean the spittoons.
The s…

447
Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes

Bound No’th Blues

Bound No’th Blues

Goin’ down the road, Lawd,
Goin’ down the road.
Down the road, Lawd,
Way,way down the road.
Got to find somebod…

346
Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes

April Rain Song

April Rain Song

Let the rain kiss you
Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops
Let the rain sing you a lullaby
The rain …

384
Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes

As I Grew Older

As I Grew Older

It was a long time ago.
I have almost forgotten my dream.
But it was there then,
In front of me,
Bright like a su…

885
Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes

-50

-50


I’m all alone in this world, she said,
Ain’t got nobody to share my bed,
Ain’t got nobody to hold my hand—
The truth of the m…

305
Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes

Acceptance

Acceptance


God in His infinite wisdom
Did not make me very wise-
So when my actions are stupid
They hardly take God by surprise

514
Khalil Gibran
Khalil Gibran

Vision X

Vision X
There in the middle of the field, by the side of a crystalline stream, I saw a bird-cage
whose rods and hinges were fashioned by an expert's hands. In o…

347
Khalil Gibran
Khalil Gibran

Two Infants II

Two Infants II
A prince stood on the balcony of his palace addressing a great multitude summoned for
the occasion and said, "Let me offer you and this whole fort…

287
Khalil Gibran
Khalil Gibran

The Playground of Life XIX

The Playground of Life XIX
One hour devoted to the pursuit of Beauty
And Love is worth a full century of glory
Given by the frightened weak to the strong…

340
Khalil Gibran
Khalil Gibran

The Widow and Her Son XXI

The Widow and Her Son XXI
Night fell over North Lebanon and snow was covering the villages surrounded by the
Kadeesha Valley, giving the fields and prairies the …

335
Khalil Gibran
Khalil Gibran

The Farewell XXVIII

The Farewell XXVIII
And now it was evening.
And Almitra the seeress said, "Blessed be this day and this place and your spirit that
has spoken."
A…

365
Khalil Gibran
Khalil Gibran

The Life of Love XVI

The Life of Love XVI
Spring
Come, my beloved; let us walk amidst the knolls,
For the snow is water, and Life is alive from its
Slumber and is roa…

408
Khalil Gibran
Khalil Gibran

The Creation I

The Creation I
The God separated a spirit from Himself and fashioned it into Beauty. He showered
upon her all the blessings of gracefulness and kindness. He gave…

392
Khalil Gibran
Khalil Gibran

The Beauty of Death XIV

The Beauty of Death XIV
Part One - The Calling
Let me sleep, for my soul is intoxicated with love and
Let me rest, for my spirit has had its bounty of da…

480
Khalil Gibran
Khalil Gibran

Song of the Soul XXII

Song of the Soul XXII
In the depth of my soul there is
A wordless song - a song that lives
In the seed of my heart.
It refuses to melt with ink o…

291
Khalil Gibran
Khalil Gibran

Talking XX

Talking XX
And then a scholar said, "Speak of Talking."
And he answered, saying:
You talk when you cease to be at peace with your thoughts;
And w…

399
Khalil Gibran
Khalil Gibran

Song of Love XXIV

Song of Love XXIV
I am the lover's eyes, and the spirit's
Wine, and the heart's nourishment.
I am a rose. My heart opens at dawn and
The virgin k…

347
Khalil Gibran
Khalil Gibran

Song of the Flower XXIII

Song of the Flower XXIII
I am a kind word uttered and repeated
By the voice of Nature;
I am a star fallen from the
Blue tent upon the green carpe…

355
Khalil Gibran
Khalil Gibran

Reason and Passion XV

Reason and Passion XV
And the priestess spoke again and said: "Speak to us of Reason and Passion."
And he answered saying:
Your soul is oftentimes a batt…

335
Khalil Gibran
Khalil Gibran

Self-Knowledge XVII

Self-Knowledge XVII
And a man said, "Speak to us of Self-Knowledge."
And he answered, saying:
Your hearts know in silence the secrets of the days and the…

354