J. Crutchfield Thompson [Langston Hughes] - 4 Very Short Poems (1926-27)

Forgotten Poems #65: The Book of Lost Rhymes

 
              —: Pensée :—

       I would not like to see you Dead
       Because you are ugly now;
       In death
       You would be uglier.
 

 
              —: Autumn Note :—

       The little flowers of yesterday
       Have all forgotten May.
       The last gold leaf
       Has turned to brown.
       The last bright day is grey.
       The cold of winter comes apace
       And you have gone away.
 

 
              —: Epitaph :—

       Within this grave I lie,
       Yes, I.
       Why laugh, good people,
       Or why cry?
       Within this grave
       Lies nothing more
       Than I.
 

 
              —: Untitled :—

       I have put my hands
       On the body of love before
       And love has grown afraid and fled.
       I have pressed my lips
       To the lips of love before
       And the lips of love have grown more red,
       More red,
       And the soul of love lay dead.
       I shall not seek you
       Flower-like one,
       Lest yet another time
       My heart be bled.
 

J. Crutchfield Thompson was one of the pseudonyms used by poet and writer Langston Hughes (1901-1967) in the late-1920s. I am particularly pleased to be able present this set, as two of the poems—‘Pensée’ (1926) and ‘Untitled’ (1927)—have remained uncollected for almost 100 years, buried in long out-of-print back issues of The Messenger, a prominent African American arts and culture magazine of the 1920s. Honestly, this is the kind of opportunity an editor of forgotten poetry dreams of—being able to bring to light two poems by one of the most significant poets of the twentieth century, which have otherwise been entirely overlooked by anthologists and historians.

Furthermore, while the other two verses were included in The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes (1995)—the only comprehensive anthology of Hughes’ work to date, which Penguin mistakenly claims has “all the poems that Hughes published during his lifetime”—‘Epitaph’ was misquoted (with the first line reading “Within this grave lie” instead of “Within this grave I lie”). I am not sure what to do regarding this discovery? Should I contact Penguin? I am not sure if they would correct the book at this late stage? But Hughes’ poem should be restored to its original glory (especially given that the second line specifically references the “I” in the first line). Anyway, while there is a lot more which could be said about Hughes regarding his influence on the ‘Harlem Renaissance’ and post-1913 ‘new verse’ generally, I will leave this for a later time.

Illustration by New York writer and artist Ted Carroll from The Messenger (Sep. 1926). Carroll was an African American sportswriter and cartoonist, best known for his contributions to the boxing magazine The Ring; “Working in an era when boxing was one of the few outlets where black athletes could achieve wealth, success, and recognition, Carroll's commentary on the sport provides a profound perspective on race and the history of boxing.” (A Boxing Legacy: The Life and Works of Writer and Cartoonist Ted Carroll, 2023)

 
              For J. Crutchfield Thompson
                          By Dick Whyte

       Rain falls from the sky
       And I,
       Rely on night
       To tell me why,
       I feel afraid—

       Night turns to day,
       But I
       Prefer the shade.
 

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