Thursday, February 24, 2011

Harlem Renaissance Poem ,by: Langston Hughes

Harlem Sweeties

by Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes
Have you dug the spill   
Of Sugar Hill?
Cast your gims
On this sepia thrill:   
Brown sugar lassie,   
Caramel treat,   
Honey-gold baby   
Sweet enough to eat.   
Peach-skinned girlie,   
Coffee and cream,   
Chocolate darling   
Out of a dream.   
Walnut tinted
Or cocoa brown,   
Pomegranate-lipped   
Pride of the town.   
Rich cream-colored   
To plum-tinted black,   
Feminine sweetness   
In Harlem’s no lack.   
Glow of the quince   
To blush of the rose.   
Persimmon bronze   
To cinnamon toes.   
Blackberry cordial,   
Virginia Dare wine—
All those sweet colors   
Flavor Harlem of mine!   
Walnut or cocoa,   
Let me repeat:
Caramel, brown sugar,   
A chocolate treat.   
Molasses taffy,
Coffee and cream,   
Licorice, clove, cinnamon   
To a honey-brown dream.   
Ginger, wine-gold,   
Persimmon, blackberry,
All through the spectrum
Harlem girls vary—
So if you want to know beauty’s   
Rainbow-sweet thrill,
Stroll down luscious,
Delicious, fine Sugar Hill.

2 comments:

  1. I love your commentary about pride with black women, regardless of their shade of "black." Inspirational!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hello,
    I found a YouTube channel with an emotional interpretation of Langston Hughes' poem, Negro.
    https://youtu.be/qVYGXSsG100

    ReplyDelete