Written by Langston Hughes
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?
This is the 20th anniversary of National Poetry Month. What better way to commemorate than with this poem by one of my favorites, Langston Hughes.