Because my mouth


Is wide with laughter


And my throat


Is deep with song,


You do not think


I suffer after


I have held my pain


So long?


Because my mouth


Is wide with laughter,


You do not hear


My inner cry?


Because my feet


Are gay with dancing,


You do not know


I die?

— “Minstrel Man” Langston Hughes,
from The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes

STRANGE DAYS- DOORS

Strange days have found us
Strange days have tracked us down
Theyre going to destroy
Our casual joys
We shall go on playing
Or find a new town

Yeah!

Strange eyes fill strange rooms
Voices will signal their tired end
The hostess is grinning
Her guests sleep from sinning
Hear me talk of sin
And you know this is it

Yeah!

Strange days have found us
And through their strange hours
We linger alone
Bodies confused
Memories misused
As we run from the day
To a strange night of stone