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For A Cynic

Countee Cullen

1903 –

1946

Birth is a crime
All men commit;
Life gives them time
To atone for it;
Death ends the rhyme
As the price for it.

This poem is in the public domain.

Born on May 30, 1903, in New York City, Countee Cullen was one of the most important voices of the Harlem Renaissance

Occasion

Themes

^{(For Carl Van Vechten)}

Countee Cullen

1925

Once riding in old Baltimore,
Heart-filled, head-filled with glee,
I saw a Baltimorean
Keep looking straight at me.

Countee Cullen

1927

1
For my Grandmother

Countee Cullen

1927