July 2, 2026
Featured Poem
While readying for a family vacation the Juneteenth holiday came around. I took this as a nudge to explore black poets and came across Langston Hughes, born in Joplin, Missouri. He has an impressive portfolio of poems, essays and plays. He was a social activist and leader of the Harlem Renaissance. Here is, The Negro Speaks of Rivers.
The Negro Speaks of Rivers
By Langston Hughes
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.
I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young.
I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep.
I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it.
I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln
went down to New Orleans, and I’ve seen its muddy
bosom turn all golden in the sunset.
I’ve known rivers:
Ancient, dusky rivers.
My soul has grown deep like the rivers.
One reply on “The Poet’s Corner”
It was fun and cool to read The Raven again. You make me feel smart and educated.