THE POETRY OF LANGSTON HUGHES
One-Way Ticket
Me and the Mule
I pick up my life
And take it with me
And I put it down in
Chicago, Detroit
Buffalo, Scranton
Any place that is
North and EastAnd not Dixie
My old mule,
He’s got a grin on his face.
He’s been a mule so long
He’s forgotten about his race.
I’m like that old muleBlack-and don’t give a damn!
You got to take me
Like I am.
I pick up my life
And take it on the train
To Los Angeles, Bakersfield.
Seattle, Oakland, Salt Lake.
The Negro
Any place that is
North and WestAnd not South.
I am a Negro:
Black as the night is black,
Black like the depths of my Africa.
I am fed up
With Jim Crow laws,
People who are cruel
And afraid.
Who lynch and run,
Who are scared of me
And me of them
I’ve been a slave:
Caesar told me to keep his door-steps clean
I brushed the boots of Washington.
I pick up my life
And take it away
On a one-way ticketGone up North,
Gone out West,
Gone!
I’ve been a singer:
All the way from Africa to Georgia
I carried my sorrow songs,
I made ragtime.
American Heartbreak
I am a Negro:
Black as the night is black.
Black like the depths of my Africa.
I am the American heartbreakRock on which Freedom
Stumps its toe The great mistake
That Jamestown
Made long ago.
I’ve been a worker:
Under my hand the pyramids arose.
I made mortar for the Woolworth Building.
I’ve been a victim:
The Belgians cut off my hands in the Congo
They lynch me now in Texas
Still Here
I, Too
I been scared and battered
My hope the wind done scattered.
Snow has friz me,
Sun has baked me,
I, too, sing America.
I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.
Looks like between ‘em they done
Tried to make me
Stop laughin’, stop lovin’, stop livin’But I don’t care!
I’m still here!
Porter
I must say
Yes, sir,
To you all the time.
Yes, sir!
Yes, sir!
All my days
Climbing up a great big mountain
Of yes, sirs!
Tomorrow,
I’ll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody’ll dare
Say to me,
“Eat in the kitchen,”
Then.
Besides,
They’ll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamedI, too, am America.
Rich old white man
Owns the world,
Gimme yo’ shoes
To shine.
Yes, sir!
Reflective Questions: Answer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper.
1) To the best of your ability, briefly summarize the history of Black Americans from colonization to the 1920s.
2) What is the general theme of the preceding poems? Use examples to support your answer.
3) Compare Langston Hughes’ work with “The Hollow Men” by T.S. Elliot. How are they similar/different?
4) What do you think Langston Hughes believed/hoped White America would think about its treatment of
Blacks in the future? Why?
5) Which of the preceding poems is your favorite? Explain why.
6) Describe what you believe Langston Hughes would have believed was the “ideal” Black American. Use
examples from the poems to support your assertion.