No Images
She does not know
Her beauty,
She thinks her brown body
Has no glory.
If she could dance
Naked,
Under palm trees
And see her image in the river
She would know.
But there are no palm trees
On the street,
And dish water gives back no images.
This poem is in the public domain. Published in Poem-a-Day on February 19, 2022, by the Academy of American Poets.
“No Images” appeared in Opportunity IV, no. 42 (June, 1926), where it tied for first and second place in the poetry section of Opportunity’s literary contest. The poem was later adapted into a song by Nina Simone, which was featured on her 1966 album Let It All Out.
Waring Cuney
William Waring Cuney was born in Washington, D.C., and educated at Howard University, Lincoln University (where he was a classmate of Langston Hughes), and the New England Conservatory of Music. Cuney later studied music in Rome and at Columbia University before focusing on writing.