Body And Soul, Black America

And If I If I Ever Let Love Go Because The Hatred And The Whisperings Become A Phantom Dictate I O- Bey In Lieu Of Impulse And Realities (the Blossoming Flamingos Of My Wild Mimosa Trees) Then Let Love Freeze Me Out. (from I Must Become A Menace To My Enemies)

Revolution Always Unfolds Inside An Atmosphere Of Rising Expectations.

In The Process Of Telling The Truth About What You Feel Or What You See, Each Of Us Has To Get In Touch With Himself Or Herself In A Really Deep, Serious Way.

There Are Two Ways To Worry Words. One Is Hoping For The Greatest Possible Beauty In What Is Created. The Other Is To Tell The Truth.

As A Poet And Writer, I Deeply Love And I Deeply Hate Words. I Love The Infinite Evidence And Change And Requirements And Possibilities Of Language; Every Human Use Of Words That Is Joyful, Or Honest Or New, Because Experience Is New... But As A Black Poet And Writer, I Hate Words That Cancel My Name And My History And The Freedom Of My Future: I Hate The Words That Condemn And Refuse The Language Of My People In America.