My nephew put this up on FB and I thought I would share it here. It's a lovely poem. You can hear
Langston Hughes reading the poem.
The Negro Speaks of RiversI'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.
--Langston Hughes (February 1, 1902 - May 22, 1967)