James Mercer Langston Hughes was born February 1, 1902, in Joplin, Missouri. His parents divorced when he was a young child, and his father moved to Mexico. He was raised by his grandmother until he was thirteen, when he moved to Lincoln, Illinois, to live wi…
View profile & all 37 Poems / StoriesHold fast to dreamsFor if dreams die
Droning a drowsy syncopated tune,Rocking back and forth to a mellow croon,
I, too, sing America.I am the darker brother.
I went down to the river,I set down on the bank.
To fling my arms wideIn some place of the sun,
