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Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes Quotes

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Famous Langston Hughes Quotes

“Well, son, I'll tell you: Life for me ain't been no crystal stair. It's had tacks in it, And splinters, And boards torn up, And places with no carpet on the floor -- Bare. But all the time I'se been a-climbin' on, And reachin' landin's, And turnin' corners, And sometimes goin' in the dark Where there ain't been no light. So boy, don't you turn back. Don't you set down on the steps 'Cause you finds it's kinder hard. Don't you fall now -- For I'se still goin', honey, I'se still climbin', And life for me ain't been no crystal stair.”

WellsStillsSometimesHardLightTurnsFallCausesDarkStepsBoysSonCornersBoardsHoneyTornCarpetCrystalsStairsKinderSplinters
Book:The Collected Works of Langston Hughes: Works for children and young adults: poetry, fiction, and other writing
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“I've known rivers: I've known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins. My soul has grown deep like the rivers. I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young. I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep. I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it. I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln went down to New Orleans, and I've seen its muddy bosom turn all golden in the sunset. I've known rivers: Ancient, dusky rivers. My soul has grown deep like the rivers.”

WorldHumansSoulYoungTurnsSleepKnownHeardBloodSingingBuiltFlowRiversRaisedAncientGoldenMy SoulDawnSunsetVeinsNew OrleansBosomsCongoPyramidsMississippiMuddyHutsAbeNile
Author:Langston Hughes
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“Good morning, daddy! Ain't you heard The boogie-woogie rumble Of a dream deferred? Listen closely: You'll hear their feet Beating out and beating out a - You think It's a happy beat? Listen to it closely: Ain't you heard something underneath like a - What did I say? Sure, I'm happy! Take it away! Dream Boogie Hey, pop! Re-bop! Mop! Y-e-a-h!”

ThinkingDreamMorningHeardFeetBeatsPopsHeyDaddyRumbleBoogieBops
Book:The Collected Works of Langston Hughes: The poems, 1951-1967
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“I’s been livin’ a long time in yesterday, Sandy chile, an’ I knows there ain’t no room in de world fo’ nothin’ mo’n love. I know, chile! Ever’thing there is but lovin’ leaves a rust on yo’ soul. An’ to love sho ‘nough, you got to have a spot in yo’ heart fo’ ever’body – great an’ small, white an’ black, an’ them what’s good an’ them what’s evil – ‘cause love ain’t got no crowded-out places where de good ones stay an’ de bad ones can’t come in. When it gets that way, then it ain’t love.”

KnowsWorldWayHeartLongSoulBodyEvilCausesBlackWhiteRoomsLong TimeYesterdaySpotsCrowdedRustChileSandy
Author:Langston Hughes
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“Because my mouth Is wide with laughter And my throat Is deep with song, You do not think I suffer after I have held my pain So long? Because my mouth Is wide with laughter You do not hear My inner cry? Because my feet Are gay with dancing You do not know I die?”

ThinkingKnowsLongPainSufferingSongDiesFeetCryGayLaughterMouthsDancingWideThroat
Book:The Collected Works of Langston Hughes: Works for children and young adults: poetry, fiction, and other writing
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“You and I By Henry Alford My hand is lonely for your clasping, dear; My ear is tired waiting for your call. I want your strength to help, your laugh to cheer; Heart, soul and senses need you, one and all. I droop without your full, frank sympathy; We ought to be together—you and I; We want each other so, to comprehend The dream, the hope, things planned, or seen, or wrought. Companion, comforter and guide and friend, As much as love asks love, does thought ask thought. Life is so short, so fast the lone hours fly, We ought to be together, you and I.”

WantNeedsHeartDoeSoulHelpingDreamHandsTogetherLife IsAsksWaitingHoursLaughingOughtLonelyEarsTiredDearGuidesSensesCompanionCheerFrankNeed YouThoughts On LifeLoneLife Is So ShortComforter
Author:Langston Hughes
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