A Dream Deferred
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?
Do you have a dream deferred? This poem is testimony that if we defer our dreams we will either dry up, fester, resort to passive aggression, or depression or anger. None of these is a choice any of us wants to make. Some of you reading this may have already deferred your dream. Some of you may be thinking of giving up your dream, and others might be thinking to yourself, "I don't have a dream." Yes you do. God has placed in each of our hearts a desire and that desire is our soul purpose. When we ignore our dreams, we are essentially ignoring God. Here's another Hughes' poems that I love:
Dreams
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow
No matter what you do, don't give up on your dream. Keep climbing, keep striving. Each brick, each rung on the ladder gets you closer to your truth. Life is hard, sure, but without our dreams, it's a slow death.
So, in keeping with that, here's one more Langston Hughes' poem that I look to often for strength and resilience.
Mother to Son
Well, son, I'll tell you:
Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
It's had tacks in it and splinters
And boards torn up
And places with no carpet on the floor --
Bare
But all the time
I'se been a-climbin' on,
And reachin' landin's,
And turnin' corners,
And sometimes goin' in the dark
Where there ain't been no light.
So, boy, don't you turn back.
Don't you set down on the steps.
'Cause you finds it's kinder hard.
Don't you fall now --
For I'se still goin, honey,
I'se still climbin,
And life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
Thanks for reminding us to dream Langston Hughes and for teaching us how to carry on. Happy Birthday.
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