AT THE CLOSED GATE OF JUSTICE

TO be a Negro in a day like this Demands forgiveness. Bruised with blow on blow, Betrayed, like him whose woe-dimmed eyes gave bliss, Still must one succor those who brought one low, To be a Negro in a day like this. To be a Negro in a day like this Demands rare patience—patience that can wait In utter darkness. ’Tis the path to miss, And knock, unheeded, at an iron gate, To be a Negro in a day like this. To be a Negro in a day like this Demands strange loyalty. We serve a flag Which is to us white freedom’s emphasis. Ah! one must love when truth and justice lag, To be a Negro in a day like this. To be a Negro in a day like this— Alas! Lord God, what evil have we done? Still shines the gate, all gold and amethyst, But I pass by, the glorious goal unwon, “Merely a Negro”—in a day like this!