Section: «Poems»
Verse (ancient Greek ὁ στίχος — row, structure), a term in versification used in several meanings:
artistic speech organized by division into rhythmically commensurate segments; poetry in the narrow sense; in particular, it implies the properties of versification of a particular tradition ("antique verse", "Akhmatova's verse", etc.);
a line of poetic text organized according to a certain rhythmic pattern ("My uncle of the most honest rules").
To America
How would you have us, as we are?Or sinking 'neath the load we bear?Our eyes fixed forward on a star?Or gazing empty at despair?Rising or falling?..
© James Weldon Johnson
Prayer At Sunrise
O mighty, powerful, dark-dispelling sun,Now thou art risen, and thy day begun.How shrink the shrouding mists before thy face,As up thou spring'st to..
© James Weldon Johnson
The Reward
No greater earthly boon than this I crave,That those who some day gather 'round my grave,In place of tears, may whisper of me then,'He sang a song..
© James Weldon Johnson
The Black Mammy
O whitened head entwined in turban gay,O kind black face, O crude, but tender hand,O foster-mother in whose arms there layThe race whose sons are..
© James Weldon Johnson
Lazy
Some men enjoy the constant strifeOf days with work and worry rife,But that is not my dream of life:I think such men are crazy.For me, a life with..
© James Weldon Johnson
The Prodigal Son
Young man—Young man—Your arm’s too short to box with God.But Jesus spake in a parable, and he said:A certain man had two sons.Jesus didn’t give this..
© James Weldon Johnson
The Awakening
I dreamed that I was a roseThat grew beside a lonely way,Close by a path none ever chose,And there I lingered day by day.Beneath the sunshine and the..
© James Weldon Johnson
The White Witch
O, brothers mine, take care! Take care!The great white witch rides out to-night,Trust not your prowess nor your strength;Your only safety lies in..
© James Weldon Johnson
July In Georgy
I'm back down in ole Georgy w'ere de sun is shinin' hot,W'ere de cawn it is a-tasslin', gittin' ready fu' de pot;W'ere de cott'n is a-openin' an'..
© James Weldon Johnson
De Little Pickaninny's Gone To Sleep
Cuddle down, ma honey, in yo' bed,Go to sleep an' res' yo' little head,Been a-kind o' ailin' all de day?Didn't have no sperit fu' to play?Never min';..
© James Weldon Johnson
Down By The Carib Sea
ISunrise in the TropicsSol, Sol, mighty lord of the tropic zone,Here I wait with the trembling starsTo see thee once more take thy throne.There the..
© James Weldon Johnson
Her Eyes Twin Pools
Her eyes, twin pools of mystic light,The blend of star-sheen and black night;O'er which, to sound their glamouring haze,A man might bend, and vainly..
© James Weldon Johnson
A Banjo Song
W'en de banjos wuz a-ringin',An' de darkies wuz a-singin',Oh, wuzen dem de good times sho!All de ole folks would be chattin',An' de pickaninnies..
© James Weldon Johnson
Ghosts Of The Old Year
The snow has ceased its fluttering flight,The wind sunk to a whisper light,An ominous stillness fills the night,A pause — a hush.At last, a sound..
© James Weldon Johnson
From The German Of Uhland
Three students once tarried over the Rhine,And into Frau Wirthin's turned to dine.'Say, hostess, have you good beer and wine?And where is that pretty..
© James Weldon Johnson
Girl Of Fifteen
Girl of fifteen,I see you each morning from my windowAs you pass on your way to school.I do more than see, I watch you.I furtively draw the curtain..
© James Weldon Johnson
Dat Gal O' Mine
Skin as black an' jes as sof' as a velvet dress,Teeth as white as ivory —well dey is I guess.Eyes dat's jes as big an' bright as de evenin' star;An'..
© James Weldon Johnson
Brer Rabbit You's De Cutes' Of 'Em All
Once der was a meetin' in de wilderness,All de critters of creation dey was dar;Brer Rabbit, Brer 'Possum, Brer Wolf, Brer Fox,King Lion, Mister..
© James Weldon Johnson
From The Spanish
Twenty years go by on noiseless feet,He returns, and once again they meet,She exclaims, 'Good heavens! and is that he?'He mutters, 'My God! and that..
© James Weldon Johnson
From The Spanish Of Placido
Enough of love! Let break its every hold!Ended my youthful folly! for I knowThat, like the dazzling, glister-shedding snow,Celia, thou art beautiful..
© James Weldon Johnson
Deep In The Quiet Wood
Are you bowed down in heart?Do you but hear the clashing discords and the din of life?Then come away, come to the peaceful wood,Here bathe your soul..
© James Weldon Johnson
Fifty Years (1863-1913)
O brothers mine, to-day we standWhere half a century sweeps our ken,Since God, through Lincoln's ready hand,Struck off our bonds and made us men.Just..
© James Weldon Johnson
And The Greatest Of These Is War
Around the council-board of Hell, with Satan at their head,The Three Great Scourges of humanity sat.Gaunt Famine, with hollow cheek and voice, arose..
© James Weldon Johnson
Before A Painting
I knew not who had wrought with skill so fineWhat I beheld; nor by what laws of artHe had created life and love and heartOn canvas, from mere color..
© James Weldon Johnson
Father, Father Abraham
(On the Anniversary of Lincoln's Birth)Father, Father Abraham,Today look on us from above;On us, the offspring of thy faith,The children of thy..
© James Weldon Johnson