Father, Son, And Holy Ghost, So I

Dame Poverty Gave Me My Name, And Pain Godfathered Me.

Not For Myself I Make This Prayer, But For This Race Of Mine That Stretches Forth From Shadowed Places Dark Hands For Bread And Wine.

If I Am Going To Be A Poet At All, I Am Going To Be Poet And Not Negro Poet.

[w]e Have Always Resented The Natural Inclination Of Most White People To Demand Spirituals The Moment It Is Known That A Negro Is About To Sing. So Often The Request Has Seemed To Savor Of The Feeling That We Could Do This And This Alone.

Never Love With All Your Heart, It Only Ends In Aching.