I was a red man one time,
But the white men came.
I was a black man, too,
But the white men came.

They drove me out of the forest.
They took me away from the jungles.
I lost my trees.
I lost my silver moons.

Now they’ve caged me
In the circus of civilization.
Now I herd with the many—
Caged in the circus of civilization. 
 

From The Weary Blues (Alfred A. Knopf, 1926) by Langston Hughes. This poem is in the public domain.