2003 Langston Hughes Poetry Contest Winners

Who's Who by Winston Lovett of New Orleans, LA

We ate the apples and wore the leaves
As we watched God create Adam and Eve;
I carried Hannibal across the Alps
Helped Perry at the other pole with his maps;

I served Caesar in spankling rooms of gold
Landed in America only to be sold;
We were the cause of Lincoln's demise
And the real reason the South will never rise;

I smoked dope in the tent of Geronimo
Taught that Bill Boy how to hunt buffalo;
Then because of terror I learned to fight
From people waking me in the middle of the night;

Came north in that historical migration
Only to find my same situation;
Found Broadway in twenty-five
Then went back to Harlem to stay alive;

And like a flock of birds on the wing
We all found hope in Dr. King;
We felt good whenever he was around
Then went back to nothings when he was shot down;

Nevertheless, he brought a nation and world to see
That Blacks are survivors destined to be free;
We've made progress, some, over the years
Clinging to heritage ignoring our fears;

And in this multiplex-computer age
We are still a people with pent-up rage;
And we'll be here at the world's end,
Quiet music like the wind,
The Black race,
Men among men.

Back to Tom Dent Literary Festival, 2003