Wake Cry
He was a good man.
All men have to die.
O Death,
Did you ever
Fall on your knees
In tears an’ cry?
He was a good man,
Hear the widow moan.
O Death,
Do you weep—
Or is your heart
Made o’ stone?
Credit
From The Book of American Negro Poetry (Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1922), edited by James Weldon Johnson. This poem is in the public domain.
Author
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.
Date Published
01/01/1922