
“A poem is like a score for the human voice.”
— Li-Young Lee
This one is my favorite Langston Hughes poems. I love the confidence, strength, and self-love of the poem. At first the poem sounds patriotic, and I do think that theme continues to the end, with patriotism for a race and for one’s self. The seemingly simple phrase that I too am America serves as a reminder that we are all America.
I,Too
by Langston Hughes
I, too, sing America.
I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.
Tomorrow,
I’ll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody’ll dare
Say to me,
“Eat in the kitchen,”
Then.
Besides,
They’ll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed—
I, too, am America.
(Image found here.)