Lesson 2 : My favourite poet - truly an inspiration

On this Earth, there are many things for us to love and like. Well if you ask me which poet is my favourite, I will have to tell you that he is Langston Hughes. Here is a quote from him : "I swear to the Lord,I still can't see,Why Democracy means,Everybody but me." Langston Hughes just could not understand why he preferred to have a government by the people. A form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system. I think fairness is the word for this. He values fairness. Being an African American, there must have been ups and downs in his life. Facing the whites or the way he and his black brothers are treated by the whites might bring back some sad memories.

With all the sadness and unfair treatment in him, he lets it all out in his poetry works. And that is why I love his poems. Most of his works have a trace of feelings of the life of an African American. His works are often thought provoking and has a hidden message within. It is interesting to uncover the mystery.Here is a thesis for him : Langston Hughes - a true leader for the African Americans and will always be.

Hughes once said "We younger Negro artists now intend to express our individual dark- skinned selves without fear or shame. If white people are pleased we are glad. If they aren't, it doesn't matter.We build our temples for tomorrow, as strong as we know how and we stand on the top of the mountain, free within ourselves." This shows the pride that he has for his race and that he is not afraid of how people look at him and his race.

Langston Hughes was born February 1, 1902, in Joplin, Missouri. His parents divorced when he was a small child, and his father moved to Mexico. He was raised by his grandmother until he was thirteen, when he moved to Lincoln, Illinois, to live with his mother and her husband, before the family eventually settled in Cleveland, Ohio. It was in Lincoln, Illinois, that Hughes began writing poetry. Hughes was also the great-great-grandson of Charles Henry Langston (brother of John Mercer Langston, the first Black American to be elected to public office). So maybe this was where Hughes was introduced to the coldness between the two groups.

One of Hughes' work includes an essay tittled "The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain". It spoke of Black writers and poets, "who would surrender racial pride in the name of a false integration," where a talented Black writer would prefer to be considered a poet, not a Black poet, which to Hughes meant he subconsciously wanted to write like a white poet. Hughes argued, "no great poet has ever been afraid of being himself." Other works include :

Life Is Fine

I went down to the river,

I set down on the bank.

I tried to think but couldn't,

So I jumped in and sank.

I came up once and hollered!

I came up twice and cried!

If that water hadn't a-been so cold

I might've sunk and died.

But it was Cold in that water!

It was cold!

I took the elevator

Sixteen floors above the ground.

I thought about my baby

And thought I would jump down.

I stood there and I hollered!

Istood there and I cried!

If it hadn't a-been so highI might've jumped and died.

But it was High up there! It was high!

So since I'm still here livin',

I guess I will live on

.I could've died for love--

But for livin' I was born

Though you may hear me holler

,And you may see me cry--

I'll be dogged, sweet baby,

If you gonna see me die.

Life is fine! Fine as wine! Life is fine!

Dream Deferred

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry upLike a raisin in the sun?

Or fester like a sore--And then run?

Does it stink like rotten meat?

Or crust and sugar over--like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sagslike a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

Here is another poem by Langston Hugheshttp://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/langston_hughes/poems/16944

Well all good things must come to an end and Langston Hughes died of cancer on May 22, 1967. His residence at 20 East 127th Street in Harlem, New York has been given landmark status by the New York City Preservation Commission. His block of East 127th Street was renamed "Langston Hughes Place".

From him, I have learnt that one should take pride in himself. Be confident that you can do it. One should also not be too particular on what people think of you. As long as you know that you are doing the right thing, it is fine. Some other people's thoughts might just deter you from acheiving the desired results of your actions. Most importantly, just be yourself!!

Here are my references : poets.org

famouspoetsandpoems.com

google.com

yahoo.com