Poems by James Weldon Johnson

All Poems Original Poems Translations

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An Explanation

Look heah! 'Splain to me de reason

Why you said to Squire Lee,

Der wuz twelve ole chicken thieves

In dis heah town, includin' me.

Ef he tole you dat, my brudder,

He said sump'n dat warn't true;

W'at I said wuz dis, dat der wuz

Twelve, widout includin' you.

by James Weldon Johnson

Dat Gal o' Mine

Skin as black an' jes as sof' as a velvet dress,

Teeth as white as ivory —well dey is I guess.

Eyes dat's jes as big an' bright as de evenin' star;

An' dat hol' some sort o' light lublier by far.

Hair don't hang 'way down her back; plaited up in rows;

Wid de two en's dat's behin' tied wid ribben bows.

Han's dat raly wuz'n made fu' hard work. I'm sho';

Got a little bit o' foot; weahs a numbah fo'.

by James Weldon Johnson

Tunk

(A Lecture on Modern Education)

Look heah, Tunk! — Now, ain't dis awful! T'ought I sont you off to school.

Don't you know dat you is growin' up to be a reg'lah fool?

Whah's dem books dat I's done bought you? Look heah, boy, you tell me quick,

Whah's dat Webster blue-back spellah an' dat bran' new 'rifmatic?

W'ile I'm t'inkin' you is lahnin' in de school, why bless ma soul!

You off in de woods a-playin'. Can't you do like you is tole?

Boy, I tell you, it's jes scan'lous d'way dat you is goin' on.

by James Weldon Johnson

A Banjo Song

W'en de banjos wuz a-ringin',

An' de darkies wuz a-singin',

Oh, wuzen dem de good times sho!

All de ole folks would be chattin',

An' de pickaninnies pattin',

As dey heah'd de feet a-shufflin' 'cross de flo'.

An' how we'd dance, an' how we'd sing!

Dance tel de day done break.

by James Weldon Johnson

And the Greatest of These Is War

Around the council-board of Hell, with Satan at their head,

The Three Great Scourges of humanity sat.

Gaunt Famine, with hollow cheek and voice, arose and spoke,—

"O, Prince, I have stalked the earth,

And my victims by ten thousands I have slain,

I have smitten old and young.

Mouths of the helpless old moaning for bread, I have filled with dust;

And I have laughed to see a crying babe tug at the shriveling breast

by James Weldon Johnson

Before a Painting

I knew not who had wrought with skill so fine

What I beheld; nor by what laws of art

He had created life and love and heart

On canvas, from mere color, curve and line.

Silent I stood and made no move or sign;

Not with the crowd, but reverently apart;

Nor felt the power my rooted limbs to start,

But mutely gazed upon that face divine.

by James Weldon Johnson

Lazy

Some men enjoy the constant strife

Of days with work and worry rife,

But that is not my dream of life:

I think such men are crazy.

For me, a life with worries few,

A job of nothing much to do,

Just pelf enough to see me through:

I fear that I am lazy.

by James Weldon Johnson

The Reward

No greater earthly boon than this I crave,

That those who some day gather 'round my grave,

In place of tears, may whisper of me then,

"He sang a song that reached the hearts of men."

by James Weldon Johnson

The Suicide

For fifty years,

Cruel, insatiable Old World.

You have punched me over the heart

Till you made me cough blood.

The few paltry things I gathered

You snatched out of my hands.

You have knocked the cup from my thirsty lips.

You have laughed at my hunger of body and soul.

by James Weldon Johnson

Possum Song

(A Warning)

'Simmons ripenin' in de fall,

You better run,

Brudder 'Possum, run!

Mockin' bird commence to call,

You better run, Brudder 'Possum, git out de way!

You better run, Brudder'Possum, git out de way!

Run some whar an' hide!

by James Weldon Johnson

Fifty Years (1863-1913)

O brothers mine, to-day we stand

Where half a century sweeps our ken,

Since God, through Lincoln's ready hand,

Struck off our bonds and made us men.

Just fifty years — a winter's day —

As runs the history of a race;

Yet, as we look back o'er the way,

How distant seems our starting place!

by James Weldon Johnson

Deep In the Quiet Wood

Are you bowed down in heart?

Do you but hear the clashing discords and the din of life?

Then come away, come to the peaceful wood,

Here bathe your soul in silence. Listen! Now,

From out the palpitating solitude

Do you not catch, yet faint, elusive strains?

They are above, around, within you, everywhere.

Silently listen! Clear, and still more clear, they come.

by James Weldon Johnson