I Dream a World

I dream a world where man No other man will scorn, Where love will bless the earth And peace its paths adorn.

I dream a world where all Will know sweet freedom’s way, Where greed no longer saps the soul Nor avarice blights our day.

A world I dream where black and white, Whatever race you be, Will share the bounties of the earth And every man is free,

Where wretchedness will hang its head, And joy, like a pearl, Attends the needs of all mankind— Of the whole wide world—

I dream a world.

• Langston Hughes