Langston

After spending the day in the home of Langston Hughes in Harlem, this poem pays homage to the legacy of Langston Hughes. Check out a photo of this typewriter in "Gallery."

Thank you for your mark on this world

Your magic transcends the windows of this home

What a blessing it was to be in your presence

To be under your light

I looked at homes differently that day

I wondered of the masterpieces

the walls have held

The couplets the lights have shined under

The metaphors the stairs have touched

How the floors felt the vibrations and melodies of the piano

How you pulled all-nighters with that typewriter

Thank you for your contribution

Your bravery

To stand up against the background of the world’s whiteness

That same whiteness that is infiltrating your beloved Harlem

Unapologetically come down

Call to center

The eminent power of words

The divinity resting in ink

I have no idea of the impact

I will make with my poetry

But through you

I see the possibilities resting within the impossible

Your legacy shines on

The sun shined to left of your living room

The huge mirrors

Were constant reminders

Of my sufficiency

That I, too, am America

I, too, am Poet

Without formal training

Not a creative writing class under my belt

Not a poem published

But my words, too, are infinite

And are words of your generation and beyond

I, too, seek to send those vibrations

Similar to those from your piano

With my metaphors, in-line rhymes, and slang

That steeps just as deep as the keys in your typewriter

I, too, am a product of my ancestors

I pay homage through this work

Poetry is my muse

My medium to liberation

My road to imagination

I imagined how you crafted away

Built a nation within your stanzas

And established a legacy

Right here in this home

Langston Hughes

I, thank you