I, Too

Langston Hughes 1902 (Joplin) – 1967 (New York City)



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.
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Submitted by Thao9393 on August 19, 2018

Modified on May 03, 2023

20 sec read
1,590

Quick analysis:

Scheme a xbCxxx xxCxxbx xxx a
Closest metre Iambic dimeter
Characters 322
Words 64
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 1, 6, 7, 3, 1

Langston Hughes

James Mercer Langston Hughes was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist. He was one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form called jazz poetry. Hughes is best known as a leader of the Harlem Renaissance. He famously wrote about the period that "the negro was in vogue" which was later paraphrased as "when Harlem was in vogue". more…

All Langston Hughes poems | Langston Hughes Books

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