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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


THE MAN TO BE by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON

Poet Analysis

First Line: I RIDE A-TILT BECAUSE
Last Line: YOUR SON!
Subject(s): RACIAL EQUALITY;

I ride a-tilt because
Life charges through my veins—
Mixed forces guide the reins
And I must on.

Astride the universe
I go, nor pause nor rest,
With sharp swords at my breast
To lean upon.

These fierce contending bloods
Churn in the depths of me;
Merged in a mighty sea
They urge me on.

O White Men, Black and Red
Look through God's lens and see
This fused intensity—
The man to be,
Your son!



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