Flame From the Dark Tower

We shall not always plant while others reap The golden increment of bursting fruit, Nor always countenance, abject and mute, That lesser men should hold their brothers cheap; Not everlastingly while others sleep Shall we beguile their limbs with mellow flute, Not always bend to some more subtle brute; We were not made eternally to weep. The night whose sable breast relieves the stark, White stars is no less lovely being dark, And there are buds that cannot bloom at all In light, but crumple, piteous, and fall. So in the dark we hide the heart that bleeds, And wait, and tend our agonizing seeds.

Yolk-colored tongue Parched beneath a burning sky, A lazy little tune Hummed up the crest of some Soft sloping hill. One streaming line of beauty Flowing by a forest Pregnant with tears. A hidden nest for beauty Idly flung by God In one lonely lingering hour Before the Sabbath. A blue-fruited black gum, Like a tall predella, Bears a dangling figure,— Sacrificial dower to the raff, Swinging alone, A solemn, tortured shadow in the air.

There is a coarseness In the songs of black men Coarse as the songs Of the sea. There is a weird strangeness In the songs of black men Which sounds not strange To me. There is beauty In the faces of black women, Jungle beauty And mystery. Dark, hidden beauty In the faces of black women Which only black men See.

Trees are the souls of men Reaching skyward. And while each soul Draws nearer God Its dark roots cleave To earthly sod: Death, only death Brings triumph to the soul. The silent grave alone Can bare the goal. Then roots and all Must lie forgot— To rot.

All the time they were praying He watched the shadow of a tree Flicker on the wall. There is no need of prayer. He said, No need at all. The kin-folk thought it strange That he should ask them from a dying bed. But they left all in a row And it seemed to ease him To see them go. There were some who kept on praying In a room across the hall And some who listened to the breeze That made the shadows waver On the wall. He tried his nerve On a song he knew And made an empty note That might have come, From a bird’s harsh throat. And all the time it worried him That they were in there praying And all the time he wondered What it was they could be saying.

I got a job now Runnin’ an elevator In the Dennison Hotel in Jersey, Job aint no good though. No money around. Jobs are just chances Like everything else. Maybe a little luck now, Maybe not. Maybe a good job sometimes: Step out o’ the barrel, boy. Two new suits an’ A woman to sleep with. Maybe no luck for a long time. Only the elevators Goin’ up an’ down, Up an’ down, Or somebody else’s shoes To shine, Or greasy pots in a dirty kitchen. I been runnin’ this Elevator too long. Guess I’ll quit now.

Dusk dark On Railroad Avenue. Lights in the fish joints, Lights in the pool rooms. A box car some train Has forgotten In the middle of the block. A player piano, A victrola. 942 Was the number. A boy Lounging on the corner. A passing girl With purple powdered skin. Laughter Suddenly Like a taut drum. Laughter Suddenly Neither truth nor lie. Laughter Hardening the dusk dark evening. Laughter Shaking the lights in the fish joints, Rolling white balls in the pool rooms, And leaving untouched the box car Some train has forgotten.

Then the golden hour Will tick its last And the flame will go down in the flower. A briefer length of moon Will mark the sea-line and the yellow dune. Then we may think of this, yet There will be something forgotten And something we should forget. It will be like all things we know: A stone will fail; a rose is sure to go. It will be quiet then and we may stay Long at the picket gate,— But there will be less to say.

Look me over, kid! I knows I’m neat,— Little Cinderella from head to feet. Drinks all night at Club Alabam,— What comes next I don’t give a damn! Daddy, daddy, You sho’ looks keen! I likes men that are long and lean. Broad Street ain’t got no brighter lights Than your eyes at pitch midnight.

Avenues of dreams Boulevards of pain Moving black streams Shimmering like rain.