Afro-American Fragment

-          Langston Hughes (1902-1967)

(This poem is an expression of longing for home, which is the community of the blacks.)

Africa is very far. The poet doesn’t have even its memory. He has known Africa only by reading history books and listening to the Black American songs which are full of sad words. But the original flavour doesn’t exist in them because they are sung in foreign tongue. So, the identity of Africa is not clear.

The musical instruments used in the songs are not original ones. The original instruments are dominated by the modern western ones, hence lost. But the love for the origin still remains though scantily in the hearts of the Negroes. The modern Black American songs, which are full of nostalgic feelings toward the remote past, cannot give the poet a clear picture of the land of his ancestors. The songs often express bitter feelings for the lost wishes and history. In fact, Africa is, for the poet, like an unknown face covered with darkness.