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It was a long time ago.
I have almost forgotten my dream.
But it was there then,
In front of me,
Bright like a sun—
My dream.
And then the wall rose,
Rose slowly,
Slowly,
Between me and my dream.
Rose until it touched the sky—
The wall.
Shadow.
I am black.
I lie down in the shadow.
No longer the light of my dream before me,
Above me.
Only the thick wall.
Only the shadow.
My hands!
My dark hands!
Break through the wall!
Find my dream!
Help me to shatter this darkness,
To smash this night,
To break this shadow
Into a thousand lights of sun,
Into a thousand whirling dreams
Of sun!
It was a long time ago.
I have almost forgotten my dream.
But it was there then,
In front of me,
Bright like a sun—
My dream.
And then the wall rose,
Rose slowly,
Slowly,
Between me and my dream.
Rose until it touched the sky—
The wall.
The speaker has his dream, then encounters prejudice, or the "wall"
Racism
Double meaning:
Shadow.
I am black.
I lie down in the shadow.
No longer the light of my dream before me,
Above me.
Only the thick wall.
Only the shadow.
"Sun" (dream) disappears
Hughes' dream is now blocked by the "wall" of racism
Hughes' "dark hands" break the wall of prejudice & reunite him with his dream
My hands!
My dark hands!
Break through the wall!
Find my dream!
Help me to shatter this darkness,
To smash this night,
To break this shadow
Into a thousand lights of sun,
Into a thousand whirling dreams
Of sun!
Bloom, Harold. "Langston Hughes: Evolution of the Poetic Persona." The Harlem Renaissance. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 2004. 40. Print.
http://www.poemhunter.com/langston-hughes/biography/>.
<http://pixabay.com/en/person-silhouette-sunset-rock-598191/>.
<https://www.flickr.com/photos/75227967@N00/98193355/in/photolist-9FgsT-GDTLC-97Kq8X-4nAJsC-3QR65q-4w21gr-dq4K6-4KEUxS-pK1giR-4T4acH-GHKtY-Cw46Y-qrWHST-5dCJB6-6EbVN5-4kiXSY-bPXFDV-5Q5ZaQ-5gbGVQ-7CD596-rwRRvb-bTCJR4-7RxnP5-5g7okT-7W3gTx-4zZkjG-893DYd-nmVM5s-rZwfU7-99tqDR-3oUzLY-4WZ1Vt-3kGsgL-Gx6Zy-39vuo5-8ebef7-duEEG-tabWx-9HucbW-9o2zLr-dSxDPA-6znbp1-8DtndX-7BSqZm-8ykYnD-6yGzsK-62kpeq-5AYpu5-2Vw7wA-2tGYjx>.