Negro Servant

All day subdued, polite
Kind, thoughtful to the faces that are white.
O, tribal dance!
O, drums!
O, veldt at night!
Forgotten watch-fires on a hill somewhere!
O, songs that do not care!
At six o’clock, or seven, or eight,
You’re through.
You’ve worked all day.
Dark Harlem waits for you.
The el, the sub.
Pay-nights,
A taxi through the park.
O, drums of life in Harlem after dark!
O, dreams!
O, songs!
O, saxophones at night!
O, sweet relief from faces that are white!