Poetry

Dreaming Black Boy

By
James Berry
James Berry
 I wish my teacher’s eyes wouldn’t
 go pass me today. Wish he’d know
 it’s okay to hug me when I kick
 a goal. Wish I myself wouldn’t
 hold back when an answer comes.
 I’m no woodchopper now
 like all ancestors.
 I wish I could be educated
 to the best of tune up, and earn
 good money and not sink to lick
 boots. I wish I could go on every
 crisscross way of the globe
 and no person or powers or
 hotel keepers would make it a waste.
 I wish life wouldn’t spend me out
 opposing. Wish same way creation
 would have me stand it would have me
 me stretch, and hold high, my voice
 Paul Robeson’s, my inside eye
 a sun. Nobody wants to say
 hello to nasty answers.
 Paul Leroy Robeson[1] (April 9, 1898 –
January 23, 1976) was an African-American
concert singer (bass-baritone), recording
artist, athlete and actor who became noted
for his political radicalism and activism in the
civil rights movement.[2] The son of an
escaped slave, Robeson was the first major
concert star to popularize the performance of
Negro spirituals and was the first black actor
of the 20th century to portray Shakespeare's
Othello in a production with an all white
cast.[3]

Who is Paul Robeson?

 I wish torch throwers of night
 would burn lights for decent times.
 Wish plotters in pyjamas would pray
 for themselves. Wish people wouldn’t
 talk as if I dropped from Mars.
 I wish only boys were scared
 behind bravados, for I could suffer.
 I could suffer a big big lot.
 I wish nobody would want to earn
 the terrible I can suffer.
 The poem is basically about a negro boy who has
dreams and aspirations and hopes that racism
does not get in the way of his goals.
 In stanza one he wishes that his teachers would
not treat him differently but acknowledge his
presences and praise him when he does
something good. After all he is not a
‘woodchopper like his ancestors’
 In stanza two the persona in the poem has hopes
for the future. He hopes to become highly
qualified and earn a good salary, travel all over
the world without authorities harassing him.

Summary
 In stanza three and four he hopes he does
not have to spend much of his life
challenging the status quo. Finally he wish
that white supremacists would not try to
destroy blacks. That they would stop their
destructive behaviour and focus on more
positive behaviours. But most of all he
wish he would get the respect he
deserves.
 Dreams and aspirations
 Racism
 Childhood
 Loss of innocence
 Attitude to power and authority

Themes
 Alliteration
◦ P, ‘wish plotters in pyjamas would pray’
 Symbolism
◦ The sun: symbolises that the persona is fascinating
and intelligent. It also symbolises knowledge, hope
and goodness that lie within the persona
 Contrast
◦ The persona shows the differences that exist in his
society
◦ His teacher who should treat all her students fairly

Techniques
 ◦ The persona’s life is a constant struggle that
white people do not have to face
◦ Children are suppose to be innocent of social
ills the persona does not have that privilege
 Repetition
◦ ‘I wish’ ‘ I could suffer’ and ‘big big’ are
repeated to reinforce the horrors of society.
The last phrase also highlights the fear of the
black child and the restrictions imposed on
Blacks in a racist society.