Harlem
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?
Interesting. From my experience, dreams stay dreams until you decide to live them. No drying out or exploding ever happens, because dreams don’t age.
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Here, I think he was referring to the dreams of a people. The poem is entitled Harlem, and I believe he was talking about the dream of his people for prosperity and equality. If such dreams are deferred too long, they can explode into action, violence, revolution.
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Yes, true.
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