A Dream Deferred, Langston Hughes
What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
Like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore–
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over–
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?
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6 comments
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December 14, 2010 at 1:21 pm
greengirl
CD,
I’m so sorry. I had hoped the quiet was an optimistic thing. I hope you, (the whole you), are/is ok.
December 14, 2010 at 6:26 pm
Mick
Hey CD, what cheerful imagery! I suppose it could be taken in a way that means we should not put off our dreams. Then again many of us have had to put off some dreams to claim others. Can they be reclaimed?
December 14, 2010 at 10:09 pm
cultivateddiscipline
Ah heck, I’ll just make another post,,,
December 14, 2010 at 10:48 pm
Mick
CD, Lynda tells me that she wrote a paper on this poet. She talked about oppressed people who reached for their dreams but then were denied and they had to defer their dreams. Which gives me a different perspective.
December 15, 2010 at 12:23 am
cultivateddiscipline
Post done, but I want to read it during daylight hours to make sure it makes sense
manana
PS, Mick, how cool is that?
December 19, 2010 at 7:42 am
aisha
I read this post of yours earlier – in fact, I’ve read a bunch of your posts, don’t know if I’ve ever commented before, other than in my head, where I have some serious conversations with you!
I love this poem. I first read it in high school.
I don’t know what it means to you, or what it means that you posted it, but to me it’s a warning – a warning to others not to block people’s dreams too harshly, and a warning to one’s self, not to let your dreams be blocked, lest they explode.
I hope it has some – I started to say “hopeful,” but maybe that’s the wrong word – I hope it has a powerful meaning for you.
aisha