by Langston Hughes (1902 - 1967)

Fantasy in Purple
Language: English 
eat the drums of tragedy for me.
Beat the drums of tragedy and death.
And let the choir sing a stormy song
To drown the rattle of my dying breath.

Beat the drums of tragedy for me,
And let the white violins whir thin and slow,
But blow one blaring trumpet note of sun
To go with me
                       to the darkness
                                                where I go

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In: James Weldon Johnson, The Book of American Negro Poetry, Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1922


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This text was added to the website: 2025-09-20
Line count: 10
Word count: 64