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of DeWitt Williams on his way to the Lincoln Cemetery
of DeWitt Williams on his way to the Lincoln Cemetery - Gwendolyn Brooks
of DeWitt Williams on his way to the Lincoln Cemetery
He was born in Alabama.
He was bred in Illinois.
He was nothing but a
Plain black boy.
Swing low swing low sweet sweet chariot.
Nothing but a plain black boy.
Drive him past the Pool Hall.
Drive him past the Show.
Blind within his casket,
But maybe he will know.
Down through Forty-seventh Street:
Underneath the L,
And Northwest Corner, Prairie,
That he loved so well.
Don’t forget the Dance Halls –
Warwick and Savoy,
Where he picked his women, where
He drank his liquid joy.
Born in Alabama.
Bred in Illinois.
He was nothing but a
Plain black boy.
Swing low swing low sweet sweet chariot.
Nothing but a plain black boy.
Of DeWitt Williams on his way to the Lincoln Cemetery, from Selected Poems (New Directions, 2002), Gwendolyn Brooks 2002, used by permission of Brooks Permissions.