If We Must Die by Claude McKay | Poems Rethabile Likes
🎂 Happy Birthday, Claude McKay!
Poet • Novelist • Harlem Renaissance • born 15 September 1890
Today we celebrate the birthday of Claude McKay — a central figure of the Harlem Renaissance and one of the most powerful voices against racism and oppression. Here is his immortal sonnet, "If We Must Die." Another favourite of mine is The Harlem Dancer.
If We Must Die
If we must die, let it not be like hogs
Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot,
While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs,
Making their mock at our accursèd lot.
If we must die, O let us nobly die,
So that our precious blood may not be shed
In vain; then even the monsters we defy
Shall be constrained to honor us though dead!
O kinsmen! we must meet the common foe!
Though far outnumbered let us show us brave,
And for their thousand blows deal one death-blow!
What though before us lies the open grave?
Like men we'll face the murderous, cowardly pack,
Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back!
Claude McKay (1890–1948) was a Jamaican-American poet, novelist, and activist. He was a central figure of the Harlem Renaissance. His work is known for its powerful protest against racism and oppression, as well as its celebration of Black culture and identity. Major works include Harlem Shadows, Spring in New Hampshire, and the novel Home to Harlem. Another sonnet of his I love is The Harlem Dancer"
Read more: Poetry Foundation • ThriftBooks
Read more: Poetry Foundation • ThriftBooks
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