Langston Hughes wrote many short poems. In the last post I quoted my favorite poem - Dreams. That is not just my favorite poem by Langston Hughes, it is my favorite poem, period. This is another short poem by Langston Hughes. While he wrote many quite long poems, I believe it is in his short poems where the real power of his poetry shines through. The following poem evokes strong emotions in eight short lines.

Walls

Four walls can hold
So much pain,
Four walls that shield
From the wind and rain.

Four walls shelter
So much sorrow
Garnered from yesterday
and held for tomorrow.

Langston Hughes
1902-1967

While I enjoy a complicated poem that makes me think and stretches my imagination, I prefer simple poems written in simple language. Those are the kinds of poems I write and the ones I prefer to read.

My favorite poet is Langston Hughes. I intend to write an article for my main web site and several posts on the blog about his poetry. The poem below is my favorite poem. According to The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes edited by Arnold Rampersad and David Roessel, it is one of his earlier poems written sometime between 1921 and 1930. As far as I know, this is the most complete collection of his poems available.

Dreams

Hold fast to dreams
for if dreams die
life is a broken-winged bird
that cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams
for when dreams go
life is a barren field
frozen with snow.

Langston Hughes
1902-1967