My old man's a white old man
And my old mother's black.
If ever I cursed my white old man
I take my curses back.
If ever I cursed my black old mother
And wished she were in hell,
I'm sorry for that evil wish
And now I wish her well
My old man died in a fine big house.
My ma died in a shack.
I wonder were I'm going to die,
Being neither white nor black?
Cross by Langston Hughes • 89 poems by Langston HughesEdit
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James Langston Hughes [1902-1967] was born in Joplin, Missouri, USA, the great-great-grandson of Charles Henry Langston (brother of John Mercer Langston, the first Black American to be elected to public office). He attended Central High School in Cleveland, Ohio, where he began writing poetry in the eighth grade. His father would discourage him from pursuing writing as a career, in favour of something 'more practical'. Langston's tuition fees to Columbia University were paid on the grounds that he study engineering.
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By Langston Hughes, © -1, All rights reserved.
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I love this poem. It confused me at first but after about 6 times of reading it I understood exactly what was going on emotionally, and culturally. I do believe he is talking about racism during his time. I also believe he is not only talking about where his parents/grandparents fit in and relating in to where he will fit in. He wants to know where he stands in life and where he is loved in aspect to the color of his skin. As he says he is "neither white nor black."
- From guest Alex Bottomly (contact)
This poem is about white and black people For guest dabna
Imagine the title was changed from cross to cross-breed. Not politically correct but it should give you the necessary insight.
Just considering the words would you say the poet was white or black? How does that effect him?
JimWhat's the subject of this poem?
From guest dabna (contact)
i'm confused about the subject of this poem. can anyone help?For Guest keana and others
As it says further down Hughes was born of mixed race parents his great grand-fathers were white, his great grand-mothers were black on both sides of the family. Hence he is not talking about his father directly when he refers to his old man. Indeed he is probably talking about the slave anceators of many African-Americans who were the offspring of illicit liasions between plantation owners (in fine big houses) and slave women (in shacks).
More info here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langston_Hughes#Relationship_with_father_and_Columbia
Jimconfused
From guest keana (contact)
i don't know if this is really talking about him or if it's made up i need to know for an LA project it's confusing
ader
From guest chelsea (contact)
Langston is well known for his bluntness so obviously this means just what he says. He is talking about the un equality between the whites and the blacks. his father was a white man who died with dignity whereas his mother died in shame and poverty. he is making it clear that he is unsure about is place ins society. His beign a mixed citizen sits him at an awkward stance in his life!- From guest Vic Morison (contact)
Hughes is talking about his grandfathers. Both his grandfathers are white and both his grandmothers are black. And his parents are biracial. I wonder why people are thinking he's refering his father. Hughes is using the the word "old man", c'mon people read biographys if you have questions. - Ouch...reality struck here...
Langston Hughes
From guest Kristine (contact)
Was Hughes mother and father black or white? I know he is mixed but which one is black and which one is white?- From guest alicia haan (contact)
Langston was of mixed raced heritage on both sides. His mother was not white, everyone. I'm currently in a poetry class and when we read a poem we are asked to write a reading log and look up the history of the poet. Check it out everyone. He is writing from the perspective of black people in general during his time and before, not during ours. Also let me say to my biracial counterparts, it is not a matter of fitting in on eitherside. It is about self love, we are who God says we are, and who we say we are. It took me 29 years to figure that out. DENOTATION and CONNOTATION?
From guest Mita Yulian Sasmita (INA) (contact)
I'm really not good! My literature lecturer asked the class to find the form, rhyme, speaker, tone and theme of this poem. I've found the answers! But I really dont know what to explain, because she also asked us to find the denotation and connotation meaning. Any help?- I alway wonder why he wrote this poem since his father was never white, but I knew he and his father never got along.
I like this Poem
From guest Ranee Bryant (contact)
I like this poem because I am very into my culture and I to am black and white.. I mean this poem is kind of weird because in my situation my dad has all the money and is black and my mother has none and she is white!!! this is kind of a stereotypical poem but not in the sense that langston wrote it, but they way that other people (society) looks at things. this poem is stereotypical and it kinda discriminates blacks and stereotypes whites. I like it because whenever I read it, it makes me think of our history and how much things have changed.Incorrect
From guest brown (contact)
People need to do their research. Langston Hughes father was not a "white man." In fact, hughes and his father did not get along, primarily because Hughes father hated his heritage and was ashamed of being a black man. Hughes on the other hand was proud of his race and people and this created a rift between father and son and in turn Hughes at one point in time contemplated suicide because of his troubled relationship with his father. This poem is not about his life...but probably about his father who was of mixed heritage and ashamed of that.Very Relating
From guest Yolanda (contact)
This poem has alot of meaning to me. Being a biracial individual, sometimes you don't know where you fit in. Confused of your race, acceptance is the hardest thing to receive.good poem.
identity crisis. says a lot for people who are torn between two worlds.- again an old poem expressing loss of identity and confusions of being neither black nor white, born out of mixed origin...
but he doesnt curse the white parent... as its a sign of no oppression and unification of the races... atleast at an individual level...
but still seems... the differences in the races had existed at the major population level, which gives him the uncertainity about his future...
perhaps he anticipated that the evolution of black american history wouldnt happen overnight...
an apt title for the loss of identity ... in general imposed by past generations ... not just specific for this poem... - Wow! That is truth and power, still working in the churns of American culture.
- I absoultely LOVE Langston Hughes poetry! it's so strong and makes me proud to be black. I love the way his words push the envelop in a way...his words are so strong and filled with conviction.
- well I just am like...wow. This was very straightfoward to the point. There wasn't some deep analytical interpretation you had to come up with. I really liked it because it reflects the different lifestyles that a black person and white person may have lived and how a biracial person has a hard time placing themselves.
- wow. no this is not confusing there are no hidden secrets to this poem. yes his father was white and his mother was black. because of his time if he may have wished things as if his mother wasn't black or his father wasn't white. kinda sad that a tenth grader has to break this down...
- Hughes’ confusion is apparent in the poem, Cross, as well. The speaker’s mother was black and “died in a shack.†His father was white and “died in a fine big house.†This shows racial prejudice and how the whites have it better than the blacks. The poem is not about death at all, but rather, it is about current life. Being a mulatto, the speaker is wondering if he will live a life of white supremacy, or live in black poverty.
The reflection of the speaker in this poem demonstrates remorse and a longing for ultimate unification of the races. The speaker wishes his parents well, for if they are not cursed, then he will not be. This poem is based on Hughes’ true upbringing, in that his mother was white and his father was black, the opposite of the speaker’s parents. These feelings provide a strong backbone to the consistent motif of Hughes’ poems. He craves the equal treatment of blacks and whites. When the speaker states, “I wonder where I’m going to die,/ being neither white nor black,†he is speaking for all of mankind, questioning wether the time will ever come for the two races to be treated equally.
- i love it
- This is one I perform as well, in two shows as a matter of fact; "lovinbgly Yours" and "Rhythms of the Harlem Renaissance". In Mr. Hughes book; "The Big Sea" he desribes in great detail how this poem should be delivered by those who recite it. It is one of those poems that makes one ponder. Excellent!
- This is one of my favourite poems by Langston Hughes. He is an amazing poet.
- this poem clearly illistrates how the struggle of a "half-Breed" as they call it thinks how it will end for him i think that the struggle is not straitly related to being black or white but more of better and worse one way you dont want to end or the other but whats in the middle is where you end
- I believe that Lanston Hughes this is not about his life. It is inbetween life and death. Or it can be that this does relate to his life. All this he has written is true and him punishing himself and apologizing in small words but very hard to understand because the person reading has to interpret and put the poem together. The emotion of this poem is basically suffer. Suffer of wrong doing. Ya'll should realize that..
- can anyone explain to me how this poem relates to his life?
was his father really white and his mother really black? - I like this poem! It is simple and intersting!
- this poem is confusing in alot of ways but thats what makes hughs so intresting.
- This is a well written poem. Being that i'm multicultered I can related to it. It's really good.
- I dont find confusion in this poem...perhaps the way he used words might seem a little strange, but so would any dialect that we would not be used to. This poem struck me as being written by a poet who had accepted his birthright maybe after a struggle to adapt but now wanted to atone for savage words said, maybe in a fit of anger years gone by.
- like the poem i can agree with it alot
- Langston Hugheswas one of the most powerful poets of his time.
Yvonne - I would like to thank langston for this one, It describes me to the T
- Something anyone of mixed heritage can relate to. Langston hughes was educated far ahead of his time. I don't believe the world was ready for such a man.
- just for the record, yes langston hughes was half white and half black but i think that everyone is confusing the fact that this poem is not written specifically about himself. langston was born with a white mother and a black father that did not approve of his writing. his mother passed him off to his grandmother to raise. his father moved to mexico when he was one year old. langston writes largely for the african american culture and a lot of the time about personal experiences but this is a more representative poem about the times and the situation, but not a window into his soul.
- I think what he meant by the title "Cross" was the actual shape of the cross representing the crossroads that the speaker is at about whether or not he is supposed to be black or white.
- I like the humor of this piece. Wrapped in forgiveness and hope but as well the turmoil of the situation that it speaks on.
A good piece written by Hughes.
Edited on Oct 08, 8:06 p.m. because ''. - Well, since I am biracial this poem really speaks out to me... What I got from it, due to my experiences as being black and white, is he feels lost. Lost because of the society and that theory still applies to today's society. People think that biracial kids are confused. The only reason biracial people may be confused is because at a young age we have to decide which way we want to go ( WHITE OR BLACK??). Society classifies biracial people as one not both, it is unheard of for people to go "You act mixed.", but we do hear "you act white/ or black" B/c of this they struggle. They struggle b/c they feel like if they go one way then they are betraying their other half and denying one of their parents. So to me this poem represents the struggle of choosing which one you want to be and the ups and downs of each side. In the end I believe he chose to be classified as biracial and refuses to be classified as one race; therefore he isn't sure where society will classify him if there is no "mixed house" or imbetween. I too refuse to pick just one, I will not deny any part of my background.
- i love this poem and it inspires me alot i write lotes of poetry myself
- this poem is very powerful. I loooooooove it. I have a lot of friends who are have white and have black. They get a lot of racial slurs and I get them to just for hanging out with them. I love how this one man can respect both and all races and shares with us his history.
Love always
megan - yes, Langston was a bit confusing and confused throughout his life. That he was mixed in a time of segregation obviously contributed to it. This poem really speaks to the slave experience and kind of dual identify many African Americans have.
