Langston Hughes, "To Beauty" (1926)
At the altar of Beauty,
To feel her loveliness and pain,
To thrill
At the wonder of her gorgeous moon
Or the sharp, swift, silver swords
Of falling rain.
To walk in a golden garden
When an autumn sun
Has almost set,
When near-night’s purple splendor
Shimmers to a star-shine net.
To worship
At the altar of Beauty
Is a pleasure divine,
Not given to the many many
But to fools
Who drink Beauty’s wine.
Not given to the many many
But to fools
Who seek no other goddess
Nor grapes
Plucked from another’s
Vine.
Published in The Crisis, October 1926