Langston Hughes
You were a spokesman of the oppressed.
Immaculate was the way you dressed,
You battled a life of stress,
With the written word you blessed
A young, hungry nation,
Who you gave birth to an idea,
Of a black writer
As an occupation,
You were a poetic giant,
Who loved blues and jazz,
A man of class,
You were the very essence
Of what a poet is to be if black.