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"The shivering birds beneath the eaves
Have sheltered for the night."
Claude McKay (1889-1948), U.S.-Jamaican poet. After the Winter (l. 3-4). . .
Poetry of Black America, The; Anthology of the 20th Century. Arnold Adoff, ed. (1973) Harper & Row. |
"Although she feeds me bread of bitterness,
And sinks into my throat her tiger's tooth,
Stealing my breath of life, I will confess
I love this cultured hell that tests my youth!"
Claude McKay (1889-1948), U.S.-Jamaican poet. America (l. 1-4). . .
Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry, The. Richard Ellmann and Robert O'Clair, eds. (2d ed., 1988) W. W. Norton & Company. |
"I have forgotten much, but still remember
The poinsettia's red, blood-red in warm December."
Claude McKay (1889-1948), U.S.-Jamaican poet. Flame-Heart (l. 9-10). . .
Caroling Dusk; an Anthology of Verse by Negro Poets. Countee Cullen, ed. (1927) Harper & Brothers. |
"Oh some I know! I have embalmed the days,
Even the sacred moments when we played,
All innocent of passion, uncorrupt,
At noon and evening in the flame-heart's shade."
Claude McKay (1889-1948), U.S.-Jamaican. Flame-Heart (l. 26-29). . .
Caroling Dusk; an Anthology of Verse by Negro Poets. Countee Cullen, ed. (1927) Harper & Brothers. |
"Like men we'll face the murderous, cowardly pack,
Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back!"
Claude McKay (1889-1948), U.S.-Jamaican poet. If We Must Die (l. 13-14). . .
Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry, The. Richard Ellmann and Robert O'Clair, eds. (2d ed., 1988) W. W. Norton & Company. |
"If we must die, O let us nobly die,
So that our precious blood may not be shed
In vain; then even the monsters we defy
Shall be constrained to honor us though dead!"
Claude McKay (1889-1948), U.S.-Jamaican poet. If We Must Die (l. 5-8). . .
Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry, The. Richard Ellmann and Robert O'Clair, eds. (2d ed., 1988) W. W. Norton & Company. |
"The wine-flushed, bold-eyed boys, and even the girls,
Devoured her with their eager, passionate gaze;
But looking at her falsely-smiling face,
I knew her self was not in that strange place."
Claude McKay (1889-1948), U.S.-Jamaican poet. The Harlem Dancer (l. 11-14). . .
Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry, The. Richard Ellmann and Robert O'Clair, eds. (2d ed., 1988) W. W. Norton & Company. |
"And, hungry for the old, familiar ways,
I turned aside and bowed my head and wept."
Claude McKay (1889-1948), U.S.-Jamaican poet. The Tropics in New York (l. 11-12). . .
Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry, The. Richard Ellmann and Robert O'Clair, eds. (2d ed., 1988) W. W. Norton & Company. |
"Deep in the secret chambers of my heart
I muse my life-long hate, and without flinch
I bear it nobly as I live my part."
Claude McKay (1889-1948), U.S.-Jamaican poet. The White City (l. 2-4). . .
Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry, The. Richard Ellmann and Robert O'Clair, eds. (2d ed., 1988) W. W. Norton & Company. |
"The pavement slabs burn loose beneath my feet,
A chafing savage, down the decent street;
And passion rends my vitals as I pass,
Where boldly shines your shuttered door of glass."
Claude McKay (1889-1948), U.S.-Jamaican poet. The White House (l. 5-8). . .
Norton Introduction to Poetry, The. J. Paul Hunter, ed. (3d ed., 1986) W. W. Norton & Company. |
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