Poems Inspired by Langston Hughes

At my weekly poetry lunch club I recently looked at Langston Hughes' poem 'Daybreak in Alabama' with a group of Year 10 and 11 students. The poem tackles Hughes' experience of racism in the Deep South, and details some of the ways in which he dreams it might be overcome. Using his poem as inspiration, I asked students to think about what they might create were they called upon to be the architects of some kind of new world or state of affairs. What follows is a couple of fantastic poems produced by the students, as well as my own piece which I shared with them.

When I Get To Be an Architect by Eman

When I get to be an architect

I’m going to delete one of the 7 wonders of the world

I’ll create my own

A brick jungle of its own

The tallest most gigantic building of them all

Looking down on inferior copper towers built

On the crushed dreams of the poor

I’ll create my own

Built to give hopes to the young

And the happiness of mum

When I get to be an architect

I’m going to delete one of the 7 wonders of the world

I’ll create my own

Daybreak by Sahana

When I get to be a vampire

I’m going to meet my favourite character

I’m going to take many hearts

Leaving nothing for the world

I’m going to fall in love

Get betrayed

And fall in my grave

I am going to be the darkest

Sinner the world has ever seen

I am going to wish I never changed

As I look back and see

I am going to show the world

What evil really is

When I get to be a vampire

I am going to realise my mistake

I am going to save the world

By sinning my soul.

Daybreak by Joshua Seigal

When I get to be an artist

I’m going to paint a picture

of a family eating

breakfast together.

I’m going to put cereal in it,

and coffee, and toast,

and big wide well-rested smiles.

I’m going to paint speech bubbles

filled with easy conversation,

and I’ll use the finest brush

for those subtle hints of love.

I’m going to paint the sun

knocking lightly on the pane,

and the trees shaking hands

with the morning.

When I get to be an artist

I’m going to rise from the bunk.

I’ll use the brightest colours

to paint over

the night.