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"O, let America be America again — The land that never has been yet — And yet must be — the land where every man is free."

"For all the dreams we've dreamed And all the songs we've sung And all the hopes we've held And all the flags we've hung, The millions who have nothing for our pay — Except the dream that's almost dead…"

"I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart, I am the Negro bearing slavery's scars. I am the red man driven from the land, I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek — And finding only the same ol…"

"O, let my land be a land where Liberty Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath, But opportunity is real, and life is free, Equality is in the air we breathe."

"Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed — Let it be that great strong land of love Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme That any man be crushed by one above."

"Let America be America again. Let it be the dream it used to be."

"If I were marooned on a desert island...I would miss...Jackie Ormes's cute drawings"

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

"I was so sick last night I Didn't hardly know my mind. So sick last night I Didn't know my mind. I drunk some bad licker that Almost made me blind."

"Hold fast to dreams For if dreams die Life is a broken-winged bird That cannot fly."

"While over Alabama earth These words are gently spoken: Serve — and hate will die unborn. Love — and chains are broken."

"Love is a naked shadow On a gnarled and naked tree."

"Way Down South in Dixie (Break the heart of me) They hung my black young lover To a cross roads tree."

"The stars went out and so did the moon. The singer stopped playing and went to bed While the Weary Blues echoed through his head. He slept like a rock or a man that's dead."

"I've known rivers: Ancient, dusky rivers. My soul has grown deep like the rivers."

"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."

"The night is beautiful, So are the faces of my people."

"They'll see how beautiful I am And be ashamed — I, too, am America."

"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."

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

"A Centennial Tribute to L. Hughes at Howard University"

"A selection of Langston Hughes's more political poetry"

"Langston Hughes on Poets.org"

"1988 audio interview of Arnold Rampersad, author of The Life of Langston Hughes. Interview by Don Swaim of CBS Radio - RealAudio"

"Montage of a Dream Deferred"

"You see, unfortunately, I am not black. There are lots of different kinds of blood in our family. But here in the United States, the word “Negro” is used to mean anyone who has any Negro blood at all …"

"Representative Poetry Online, University of Toronto"

"For poems are like rainbows; they escape you quickly."

"Oh, God of Dust and Rainbows,Help us to seeThat without the dust the rainbowWould not be."

"Well, I like to eat, sleep, drink, and be in love.I like to work, read, learn, and understand life."

"Life is for the living.Death is for the dead.Let life be like music. And death a note unsaid."