What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore--
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?
Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore--
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?
i've always liked this poem.
ReplyDeletepersonally, i've never had a dream deferred--they've always either happened, or they have changed. personally, my old dreams have peacefully faded away. assign that to whichever one you want up there.
I've also always liked this poem, although I'm not sure if I like the political radicalism it implies.
ReplyDeleteIn an important sense, it anticipates the "dream" Martin Luther King talked about in his greatest speech. At same time, though, it anticipates the violent radicalism of the late 60s and early 70s of for instance the Black Panther Party, etc.
It is pretty radical. I think, though, if you take it out of context and apply to oneself, it can have a different meaning. Even though that's not necessarily respectful to the author, we have that freedom. : )
ReplyDelete