James Langston Hughes

I will not take "but" for an answer.

Wear it Like a banner For the proud- Not like a shroud.

I swear to the Lord, I still can't see, Why Democracy means, Everybody but me.

Good morning, daddy! Ain't you heard The boogie-woogie rumble Of a dream deferred? • • • • You think It's a happy beat?

Humor is laughing at what you haven't got when you ought to have it.

I am a Negro: Black as the night is black, Black like the depths of my Africa.

Melting pot Harlem - Harlem of honey and chocolate and caramel and rum and vinegar and lemon and lime and gall . . . where the subway from the Bronx keeps right on downtown.

Never look for a worm in the apple of your eye.

No woman can be handsome by the force of features alone, any more that she can be witty by only the help of speech.

What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up Like a raisin in the sun? Maybe it just sags Like a heavy load. Or does it explode?