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Lincoln TheatreLangston HughesThe head of Lincoln looks down from the wallWhile movies echo dramas on the screen.The head of Lincoln is serenely tallAbove a crowd of black folk, humble, mean.The movies end. The lights flash gaily on.The band down in the pit bursts into jazz.The crowd applauds a plump brown-skinned bleached blondeWho sings the troubles every woman has.She snaps her fingers, slowly shakes her hips, And cries, all careless-like from reddened lips! De man I love has Gone and done me wrongWhile girls who wash rich white folks clothes by dayAnd sleek-haired boys who deal in love for payPress hands together, laughing at her song.
I read this beautiful poem this cold and dark morning and wanted to share it, but there's no complete version of it online, so I thought I'd rectify that.
(The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes, ed. Arnold Rampersad, Vintage Classics, 1995, 360)