Poems by Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou

Langston Hughes

Hughes is an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist. He was one of the earliest
innovators of the then-new literary art form jazz poetry. Hughes is best known for his work during the
Harlem Renaissance. He famously wrote about the period that "Harlem was in vogue."

I, Too
Poem by Langston Hughes

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.

Maya Angelou

(born Marguerite Ann Johnson on April 4, 1928) was an American author and poet who has been called
"America's most visible black female autobiographer" by scholar Joanne M. Braxton. She is best known for
her series of six autobiographical volumes, which focus on her childhood and early adult experiences. The
first and most highly acclaimed, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), tells of her first seventeen years.
It brought her international recognition, and was nominated for a National Book Award. She has been
awarded over 30 honorary degrees and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for her 1971 volume of poetry,
Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'Fore I Diiie.

Still I rise,
Poem by Maya Angelou

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may tread me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.
Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.
Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.
Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.
Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own back yard.
You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise.
Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?
Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

I rise...

Maya Angelou

(born Marguerite Ann Johnson on April 4, 1928) was an American author and poet who has been called
"America's most visible black female autobiographer" by scholar Joanne M. Braxton. She is best known for
her series of six autobiographical volumes, which focus on her childhood and early adult experiences. The
first and most highly acclaimed, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), tells of her first seventeen years.
It brought her international recognition, and was nominated for a National Book Award. She has been
awarded over 30 honorary degrees and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for her 1971 volume of poetry,
Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'Fore I Diiie.

Still I rise,
Poem by Maya Angelou

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may tread me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.
Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.
Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.
Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.
Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own back yard.
You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise.
Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?
Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.