“Dream Variations” was written by the American poet Langston Hughes. The poem's speaker dreams of dancing through the "white day" before resting at night, which is as "dark" as the speaker himself. The speaker’s "dreams" can be read as a metaphor for Black joy and Black survival: through his dancing, the speaker finds joy and freedom in spite of white society’s oppressive gaze, as well as a sense of belonging, safety, and shared identity in the Black community. “Dream Variations” was originally published in The Weary Blues (1926), Hughes’s first poetry collection.
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To fling my ...
... of the sun,
To whirl and ...
... day is done.
Then rest at ...
... a tall tree
While night comes ...
... is my dream!
To fling my ...
... of the sun,
Dance! Whirl! Whirl! ...
... day is done.
Rest at pale ...
... . . .
Night coming tenderly ...
... Black like me.
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
The Jazz Aesthetic — Read about the jazz aesthetic that Hughes pioneered: a form of poetry that draws on the musical traditions of jazz and the blues.
Smithsonian Article on Black Like Me — Learn about Black Like Me, the 1961 nonfiction work by John Howard Griffin that takes its title from the last line of "Dream Variations." In the book, Griffin, who was white, documents his experiences traveling through the segregated American South while passing as Black.
Langston Hughes Reads His Work — Listen to Langston Hughes read from his work at this archive from the Yale Library.
A Biography of Langston Hughes — Learn about Langston Hughes's life and work in this biographical article from the Poetry Foundation.
The Weary Blues — Learn more about The Weary Blues, the 1926 collection that included "Dream Variations," in this essay by contemporary American poet Kevin Young.