Langston Hughes, "Lover's Return" (1928)
Came back home last night.
His face was pale an'
His eyes didn't look just right.
He says to me I'm
Comin' home to you
So sick an' lonesome
I don't know what to do.
O, men treats women
Just like a pair o' shoes.
Like a pair o' shoes,
I say treats women
Like a pair of shoes,---
They kicks 'em round an'
Does 'em like they choose.
I looked at ma daddy,---
Lawd ! an' I wanted to cry.
He looked so thin,
Lawd ! that I wanted to cry.
But de devil told me
Damn a lover
Comes home to die!
Published in Carolina Magazine, May 1928