Literary Birthday – 10 September – Georgia Douglas Johnson

Georgia Douglas Johnson was born 10 September 1880 and died 10 May 1966.

Common Dust

And who shall separate the dust
What later we shall be:
Whose keen discerning eye will scan
And solve the mystery?

The high, the low, the rich, the poor,
The black, the white, the red,
And all the chromatique between,
Of whom shall it be said:

Here are the sons of Africa;
Here lies the dust of Rome;
Here lies the one unlabelled,
The world at large his home!

Can one then separate the dust?
Will mankind lie apart,
When life has settled back again
The same as from the start?

Quotes

1. The heart of a woman falls back with the night, And enters some alien cage in its plight, And tries to forget it has dreamed of the stars, While it breaks, breaks, breaks on the sheltering bars.
2. Rise with the hour for which you were made.
3. I’ve learned of life this bitter truth Hope not between the crumbling walls Of mankind’s gratitude to find repose, But rather, Build within thy own soul Fortresses!
4. Your world is as big as you make it.
5. I want to die while you love me, And never, never see The glory of this perfect day Grow dim, or cease to be!

Georgia Douglas Johnson was an African-American poet and playwright, and an important participant in the Harlem Renaissance. She wrote four collections of poetry: The Heart Of A Woman (1918), Bronze (1922), An Autumn Love Cycle (1928), and Share My World (1962).

Source for image:  Fair use   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Georgia_Douglas_Johnson.jpg#filelinks

source for quotes