Famous Poem

We all dream of what we want to experience in life, but what happens when those dreams are put on hold or ignored? That’s what Langston Hughes attempts to answer in this poem. None of the possibilities are positive, making the reader realize the importance of pursuing dreams. Langston Hughes was a key contributor during the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s. He wrote many poems about what life was like for African Americans.

Featured Shared Story

A wonderful poem by Langston Hughes, some dreams drift off with the morning mist, others come through if one persists..... A dream differed is a dream put on hold until the time comes for...

Read complete story

Share your story! (3)

Famous Poem

Harlem

By Langston Hughes more Langston Hughes

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore—
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over—
like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

more Langston Hughes

Stories 3
Shares 1185
Favorited 12
Votes 226
Rating 4.15

Read More Famous Poems

Has this poem touched you? Share your story!

by Mette Morgan
2 years ago

I used to use this in teaching poetry. Also, Whitman, Dickinson, Neruda, and the 'nature poets' to dispel the notion that poems used elaborate words or feminine subjects. They are all simple, concentrated, powerful, and profound.

by Beryl L Edmonds, United Kingdom
2 years ago

A wonderful poem by Langston Hughes, some dreams drift off with the morning mist, others come through if one persists.....

A dream differed is a dream put on hold
until the time comes for plans to unfold
Keep wishing upon a star in the sky
dreams really do come true, by and by.

Beryl Edmonds

by Virginia N. Pritts
2 years ago

This poem immediately touched my soul. It provided a strong reminder to me by how my life's effects, most times, are like a waste of life's breath. But then I remembered who I belong to, and I persistent despite it all. This poem speaks volumes on its intended subject and rightfully so. But for me, it speaks to my life perspective to the right and wrong of my childhood and sorting it out as best as I can as I maneuver through life.