From One Book Lover

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.")    Say, who are you that mumbles in the dark?  And who are you that draws your veil across the stars?    I am t...

I, Too     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. 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 ashamed— I, too, am America. by Langston Hughes from Collected Poems Courtesy Poetry Foundation