What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
Like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore--
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?
Langston Hughes (b.1902 - d. 1967)
8 comments:
Hey there Zee!
Thank you so very much for this wonderful poem! It is one of my favorite poems of Langston Hughes!!
(smiles)
Lisa
I still remember the first time I read this poem in junior high school. It's still so meaningful to me today.
Lisa and Brigitte,
Isn't it funny how a simple poem with few words can have such a powerful impact?
True genius. A few more of his great poems have been shared with me and will featured right here on this blog.
Thanks for dropping by!
Kind regards,
Zee
This was my favorite poem in high school.
It's so powerfully vivid, and speaks to such a huge cross section of American life. It's as relevant today as the day it was written, and as relevant to Whites in Appalachia as it is to Blacks in Harlem.
Thanks for posting it...
Langston Hughes is my most favorite poet - I use "Mother to Son" and "I, Too" with my 4th grade students. They grow to love his work just as much as I do.
Grégoire and Cassy,
Thanks for your comments.
Watch out for a couple more great poems from Langston Hughes.
Zee
Hi Zee -
Thank you so much for dropping your card on me. I got to meet a new blogger this way - and I look forward to reading yours regularly. Yes, this is a wonderful poem - pithy yet poignant. I wasn't as familiar with it as I should have been, I admit, but vaguely recall that the "raisin in the sun" phrase was Hughes'.
Thanks again - I look forward to reading and commenting more.
~Laura
http://zentalfloss.blogspot.com
Good postt
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