As I Grew Older by Langston Hughes

It was a long time ago.
I have almost forgotten my dream.
But it was there then,
In front of me,
Bright like a sun--
My dream.
And then the wall rose,
Rose slowly,
Slowly,
Between me and my dream.
Rose until it touched the sky--
The wall.
Shadow.
I am black.
I lie down in the shadow.
No longer the light of my dream before me,
Above me.
Only the thick wall.
Only the shadow.
My hands!
My dark hands!
Break through the wall!
Find my dream!
Help me to shatter this darkness,
To smash this night,
To break this shadow
Into a thousand lights of sun,
Into a thousand whirling dreams
Of sun!

This poem is about Langston Hughes losing his dreams. "The wall" represents racism, and is the reason for his loss of desire to accomplish his "dreams". He used to be so optimistic about them, "Bright like a sun--/My dream," but "the thick wall" devoured them and made Hughes rethink his destiny. The "shadow" represents the darkness that he lives in; how racism brings him down and covers him with "darkness." His dark hands symbolize slave labor, and how he wishes that his labor will lead him to find freedom, "My hands! My dark hands! Break through the wall!"

Anger at racism is expressed within the poem by the usage of Exclamation points and phrases such as "shatter this darkness" and "Break through the wall!" It is evident that Hughes has a desire to destroy "the wall" or racism. He is angry that his "dark hands" prevent him from fulfilling his dreams.

I chose this poem because I wrote about it in Ms. Cunnane's a.p class, and thought it would fit well with the Harlem Renaissance theme. I also didn't get a chance to analyze it as much as I wanted to in her class, which is why i chose to write about it again.

I enjoy this poem alot. There are some metaphors like the "wall" and "darkness," but it's a simple enough poem to where I can understand it. I also like that it doesn't really rhyme at all, which allows me to feel the anger of the words more. The rhyming of the poem would make the poem more gentle and soft, and would take away from the message that Hughes was trying to make.