Calling Dreams
The right to make my dreams come true,
I ask, nay, I demand of life,
Nor shall fate’s deadly contraband
Impede my steps, nor countermand;
Too long my heart against the ground
Has beat the dusty years around,
And now at length I rise! I wake!
And stride into the morning break!
Credit
This poem is in the public domain. Published in Poem-a-Day on February 20, 2021, by the Academy of American Poets.
About this Poem
“Calling Dreams” originally appeared in the January 1920 issue of The Crisis.
Author
Georgia Douglas Johnson
Georgia Douglas Johnson was born in Atlanta on September 10, 1880, and was raised in Rome, Georgia, and Atlanta. Johnson attended Atlanta University Normal School and studied music at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio. She initially aspired to become a composer.
Date Published
01/01/1920