Langston Spoke Of

One of our greatest African American poets of past centuries
He spoke to America through his poetry
Langston spoke of slavery
Black struggles and achievements, equality

Langston had a way of creating situations
With flare, with class, with perfection
When America needed to be heard
Langston was the man, to touch us with his words

Through Langstonís poetry
You can hear Miles Davis trumpet solo, to Dr. Martin Luther Kingís oratory
A true poet of American society
Rooted in the black experience, with vision and clarity

When it came to political and social justice, or the matter of race
Langston captured the essence of the situations; his poetry gave it a face
A man who could create a body of work that epitomized African American beauty
One of Langstonís mottos read
Hang yourself poet, in your own words, if you dare to speak to the world, otherwise you are dead

A beautiful assortment of poetry
Is a testament to Langston creativity?
From 1921-1930 Negro speaks of rivers to song for a banjo dance
Powerful written words that put Americaís mind in a trance

From midnight Nan at Leroyís to a Summerís night
Words that gave African Americans so much insight
From 1941-1950
Langston expanded his creativity of poetry

Like Harlem sweeties, here are a few chords
ìHave you dug the spill of sugar hill, that Harlem flare in his words
Caramel treat, honey gold baby, sweet enough to eat

Langston had that jazz flavor
The bee bop swing to his poetry, each word you would savor
To the poem that was dedicated to the death of Harry Moore
Langston's words, his lyrical computations hit deep to the core
Langston was a poetic master, with an urban flavor; he had the vision of American society
From the negative to the positive, he was our eyes to reality
His words reminded me
Of a smooth jazz symphony

Hitting you from every poetic side
Expanding my thoughts, taking my mind on a spoken word ride
Langstonís poetry
Spanning 5 decades of this manís prolific creativity

Langston paved the way
For the poets of today
With his flair and creativity
From the Harlem renaissance to modern day society
He left a legacy
Of literature and lyrical acclamation, that will never fade away
Somewhere in the heavens, Langston is looking down
With a pad and pen, wearing his poetic crown

EbonyPoet© 2004