“Cross” — Langston Hughes

“Cross”

by

Langston Hughes

My old man’s a white old man
And my old mother’s black.
If ever I cursed my white old man
I take my curses back.
If ever I cursed my black old mother
And wished she were in hell,
I’m sorry for that evil wish
And now I wish her well
My old man died in a fine big house.
My ma died in a shack.
I wonder where I’m going to die,
Being neither white nor black?

A map of Rohan, Gondor and Mordor with plot notes for The Lord of the Rings — J.R.R. Tolkien

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A map of Rohan, Gondor and Mordor with plot notes for The Lord of the Rings, Book V, 1944, by J.R.R. Tolkien (1892–1973).

From The Morgan Library & Museum’s exhibition “Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth.”