Why do men smile when I speak, And call my speech The whimperings of a babe That cries but knows not what it wants? Is it because I am black? Why do men sneer when I arise And stand in their councils, And look them eye to eye, And speak their tongue? Is it because I am black? | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...CITIZEN OF THE WORLD by ALFRED JOYCE KILMER CHAMPAGNE, 1914-1915 by ALAN SEEGER THE TREE BUDS by KATE LOUISE BROWN THE BALL, 1789 by HENRY CUYLER BUNNER THE DREAMERS by THOMAS CURTIS CLARK LA PUCELLE DE VERCHERES by GEORGE HERBERT CLARKE ON A READER OF HIS OWN VERSES; EPIGRAM by SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE |