Well, son, I’ll tell you: Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair. It’s had tacks in it, And splinters, And boards torn up, And places with no carpet on the floor— Bare. But all the time I’se been a-cimbin’ on, And reachin’ landin’s, And turnin’ corners, And sometimes goin’ in the dark Where there ain’t been no light. So boy, don’t you turn back. Don’t you set down on the steps ’Cause you finds it’s kinder hard. Don’t you fall now— For I’se still goin’, honey, I’se still climbin’, And life for me ain’t been no crystal stair. POEM We have tomorrow Bright before us Like a flame. Yesterday A night-gone thing, A sun-down name. And dawn-today Broad arch above the road we came. EPILOGUE I, too, sing America. I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen When company comes, But I laugh, And eat well, And grow strong. Tomorrow, I’ll sit at the table When company comes. Nobody’ll dare Say to me, “Eat in the kitchen,” Then. Besides, They’ll see how beautiful I am And be ashamed,— I, too, am America. Transcriber’s Notes 1. Differences between the table of contents and the text have been reconciled. Obsolete and alternative spellings have been left unchanged. Grammar has not been altered. 2. Italics font is enclosed in _underscores_. 3. Illustrations are indicated by: [Illustration: caption and/or descriptive text]. 4. “Edit Distance” in Corrections table below refers to the Levenshtein Distance. Corrections pg(s) Source Correction Edit Distance TOC 15 9 2 TOC 13 19 1 TOC 50 51 1 43 DREAM VARIATION DREAM VARIATIONS 1 69 WATER-FRONT WATER FRONT 1 71 WATER-FRONT WATER FRONT 1