POEM
Remember
Remember
The days of bondage—
And remembering—
Do not stand still.
Go to the highest hill
And look down upon the town
Where you are yet a slave.
Look down upon any town in Carolina
Or any town in Maine, for that matter,
Or Africa, your homeland—
And you will see what I mean for you to see—
The white hand:
The thieving hand.
The white face:
The lying face.
The white power:
The unscrupulous power
That makes of you
The hungry wretched thing you are today.
Source: Poetry (January 2009).
This poem originally appeared in the January 2009 issue of Poetry.
BUY THIS ISSUE »
Langston Hughes was first recognized as an important literary figure during the 1920s, a . . . MORE »
