Georgia Douglas Johnson was one of the first African-American female playwrights. She was also an important figure in the Harlem Renaissance. She also wrote songs and short stories and performed music as an organist. She published four volumes of poetry throughout his life.
‘Black Woman’ by Johnson explores a woman’s painful choice against motherhood in a cruel world, using metaphors for societal critique.
Don’t knock at my door, little child,
I cannot let you in,
You know not what a world this is
Of cruelty and sin.
‘I Want to Die While You Love Me’ by Georgia Douglas Johnson is a moving love poem. In it, the speaker addresses her desire to die before a love affair ends.
I want to die while you love me,
While yet you hold me fair,
While laughter lies upon my lips
And lights are in my hair.
‘The Heart of a Woman’ by Georgia Douglas Johnson describes the freedom for which women yearn and the shelters in which they are imprisoned.
The heart of a woman goes forth with the dawn,
As a lone bird, soft winging, so restlessly on,
Afar o’er life’s turrets and vales does it roam
In the wake of those echoes the heart calls home.
support@poemanalysis.com
Poem Solutions Limited
Company no: 10883994
United Kingdom
Access Poetry PDF Guides
for this Poem
Complete Poetry PDF Guide
Perfect Offline Resource
Covers Everything You Need to Know
One-pager 'snapshot' PDF
Great Offline Resource
Gateway to deeper understanding
870+ Reviews
