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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


THE RIDDLE by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON

Poet Analysis

First Line: WHITE MEN'S CHILDREN SPREAD OVER THE EARTH
Last Line: WHITE MEN'S CHILDREN IN BLACK MEN'S SKIN.

White men's children spread over the earth --
A rainbow suspending the drawn swords of birth,
Uniting and blending the races in one --
The world man -- cosmopolite -- everyman's son!
He channels the stream of the red blood and blue,
Behold him! A Triton -- the peer of the two;
Unriddle this riddle of 'outside in' --
White men's children in black men's skin.



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