Dream Variations

To fling my arms wide In some place of the sun, To whirl and to dance Till the white day is done,

Then rest at cool evening Beneath a tall tree, While dusk is not done, But will not pass me by.

To be in the world like the sun, To laugh and to play Like the rounded oceans, Uncaring of the day.

These are my dreams.

But they won’t pass me by, Not in the cool evening When the tall trees sigh.

Dusk is not done, It whispers softly to my heart, While my dreams will cradle me Till the world departs.

• Langston Hughes