Thursday, November 6, 2008

Let America be America Again

Last words on the election from poet Langston Hughes.

Let America be America Again

Let America be America again.
Let it be the dream it used to be.
Let it be the pioneer on the plain
Seeking a home where he himself is free.

(America never was America to me.)

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.

(It never was America to me.)

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.

(There's never been equality for me,
Nor freedom in this "homeland of the free.")

Complete poem here.

2 comments:

Beverly Kaye said...

My heart still hurts from this poem. How beautiful it is, and yet we expect no less from L.H.
Thank you so much for making this post.

Anonymous said...

thanks for the post! i'm going to read this tonight at the finalists' reading for the 2008 Poet Populist (Seattle) election. i found your blog, incidentally, when you posted last month about Arne Pihl's campaign. since then been enjoying Gurldoggie. good work! --Bob Redmond