FROM THE POETRY SHELF1922
December, 1919
by Claude McKay
Last night I heard your voice, mother,
The words you sang to me
When I, a little barefoot boy,
Knelt down against your knee.
And tears gushed from my heart, mother,
And passed beyond its wall,
But though the fountain reached my throat
The drops refused to fall.
’Tis ten years since you died, mother,
Just ten dark years of pain,
And oh, I only wish that I
Could weep just once again.
Collection and author context
The linked Project Gutenberg text places this poem in Harlem Shadows (1922), the collection closely associated with McKay’s place in the Harlem Renaissance. His biography and linked references give more context for the collection and its moment.
Source text: Harlem Shadows (1922) · Project Gutenberg. Further reading: all poems by Claude McKay · Academy of American Poets: Claude McKay · Poetry Foundation: Claude McKay.