Gwendolyn Brooks Door Poems
- 1. The Life Of Lincoln West
Ugliest little boy
that everyone ever saw.
That is what everyone said.
... - 2. The Lovers Of The Poor
arrive. The Ladies from the Ladies' Betterment League
Arrive in the afternoon, the late light slanting
In diluted gold bars across the boulevard brag
Of proud, seamed faces with mercy and murder hinting
... - 3. The Vacant Lot
Mrs. Coleyâ??s three-flat brick
Isnâ??t here any more.
All done with seeing her fat little form
Burst out of the basement door;
... - 4. The Sonnet-ballad
Oh mother, mother, where is happiness?
They took my lover's tallness off to war,
Left me lamenting. Now I cannot guess
What I can use an empty heart-cup for.
... - 5. Truth
And if sun comes
How shall we greet him?
Shall we not dread him,
Shall we not fear him
... - 6. To Be In Love
To be in love
Is to touch with a lighter hand.
In yourself you stretch, you are well.
You look at things
... - 7. The Ballad Of Rudolph Reed
Rudolph Reed was oaken.
His wife was oaken too.
And his two good girls and his good little man
Oakened as they grew.
... - 8. The Rites For Cousin Vit
Carried her unprotesting out the door.
Kicked back the casket-stand. But it can't hold her,
That stuff and satin aiming to enfold her,
The lid's contrition nor the bolts before.
...
