Still I Rise

by Langston Hughes · 1978 · Identity & Self · Lyric
You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.
Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.
Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise.

About Langston Hughes

American poet, social activist, and leader of the Harlem Renaissance. Known for his insightful portrayals of Black life in America.

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