African American Poetry: A Digital Anthology

Claude McKay, "The Barrier" (1922)

I must not gaze at them although
Your eyes are dawning day;
I must not watch you as you go
Your sun-illumined way;

I hear but I must never heed
The fascinating note,
Which, fluting like a river reed,
Comes from your trembling throat;

I must not see upon your face
Love’s softly glowing spark;
For there’s the barrier of race,
You’re fair and I am dark.

​(Edited and Proofread by Alex Thompson)
(From Harlem Shadows1922)

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