Quatrains 1
Brushes and paints are all I have
To speak the music in my soul--
While silently there laughs at me
A copper jar beside a pale green bowl.
Gwendolyn B. Bennett
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Quatrains 2
How strange that grass should sing--
Grass is so still a thing....
And strange the swift surprise of snow
So soft it falls and slow.
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Secret
I shall make a song like your hair ... Gold-woven with shadows green-tinged, And I shall play with my song As my fingers might play with your hair. Deep in my heart I shall play with my song of you, Gently.... I shall laugh At its sensitive lustre ... I shall wrap my song in a blanket, Blue like your eyes are blue With tiny shots of silver. I shall wrap it caressingly, Tenderly.... I shall sing a lullaby To the song I have made Of your hair and eyes ... And you will never know That deep in my heart I shelter a song of you Secretly....
To a Dark Girl
I love you for your brownness And the rounded darkness of your breast. I love you for the breaking sadness in your voice And shadows where your wayward eye-lids rest.
Something of old forgotten queens Lurks in the lithe abandon of your walk And something of the shackled slave Sobs in the rhythm of your talk.
Oh, little brown girl, born for sorrow’s mate, Keep all you have of queenliness, Forgetting that you once were slave, And let your full lips laugh at Fate!
Your Songs
When first you sang a song to me With laughter shining from your eyes, You trolled your music liltingly With cadences of glad surprise.
In after years I heard you croon In measures delicately slow Of trees turned silver by the moon And nocturnes sprites and lovers know.
And now I cannot hear you sing, But love still holds your melody For silence is a sounding thing To one who listens hungrily.
Fantasy
I sailed in my dreams to the Land of Night Where you were the dusk-eyed queen, And there in the pallor of moon-veiled light The loveliest things were seen ...
A slim-necked peacock sauntered there In a garden of lavender hues, And you were strange with your purple hair As you sat in your amethyst chair With your feet in your hyacinth shoes.
Oh, the moon gave a bluish light Through the trees in the land of dreams and night. I stood behind a bush of yellow-green And whistled a song to the dark-haired queen ...
Hatred
I shall hate you Like a dart of singing steel Shot through still air At even-tide. Or solemnly As pines are sober When they stand etched Against the sky. Hating you shall be a game Played with cool hands And slim fingers. Your heart will yearn For the lonely splendor Of the pine tree; While rekindled fires In my eyes Shall wound you like swift arrows. Memory will lay its hands Upon your breast And you will understand My hatred.
Sonnet--2
Some things are very dear to me-- Such things as flowers bathed by rain Or patterns traced upon the sea Or crocuses where snow has lain ... The iridescence of a gem, The moon’s cool opalescent light, Azaleas and the scent of them, And honeysuckles in the night. And many sounds are also dear-- Like winds that sing among the trees Or crickets calling from the weir Or Negroes humming melodies. But dearer far than all surmise Are sudden tear-drops in your eyes.
Biografía
Gwendolyn B. Bennett was an American poet, artist, and journalist active during the Harlem Renaissance. Born in Giddings, Texas, she contributed poems, short stories, and visual art to key periodicals of the era, including The Crisis, Opportunity, and Fire!!. Her poetry often explores themes of racial pride, romantic love, and the natural world, employing vivid imagery and a lyrical voice. She served as an editor for Opportunity and wrote a literary column titled 'The Ebony Flute,' which documented the cultural life of Harlem. Bennett co-founded the short-lived but influential magazine Fire!! with other young Black writers. She also worked as an educator, teaching art and related subjects at institutions such as Howard University. Her notable poems include 'To a Dark Girl,' 'Heritage,' and 'Fantasy,' which affirm Black beauty and challenge racist stereotypes. Although she published no full-length collection during her lifetime, her work was widely anthologized and helped shape the aesthetic of the New Negro movement. Bennett's contributions as both a writer and visual artist made her a significant figure in the cultural ferment of 1920s Harlem. She is remembered for her role in fostering Black artistic expression and community through her editorial and creative work.
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