FROM THE POETRY SHELF1922
The Wild Goat
by Claude McKay
O you would clothe me in silken frocks
And house me from the cold,
And bind with bright bands my glossy locks,
And buy me chains of gold;
And give me—meekly to do my will—
The hapless sons of men:—
But the wild goat bounding on the barren hill
Droops in the grassy pen.
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.