Juke Box Love Song

So on a day to day basis people can sometimes tend to feel constricted within their own lives, doings, and surroundings. The pressure to exceed everyone else's expectations in order to make a name for themselves, or stand out in a crowd, can drive people to a point of insanity in which they have completely lost themselves. People fail to realize that sometimes it easiest to become one with their surroundings and embrace the community in which they come from; if a person decides to find light for their life out of their usual surroundings, there is no limit to what they can accomplish. In certain periods during American history, communities and economies have suffered harsh downfalls that eventually led to depressions unemployment. Some chose to let the downward spiral of America to defeat them down to the core, while others chose other wise and made the best out of what they had. One little area of history that has always fascinated me is the Harlem renaissance; the ability for people to create mind boggling poems, speeches, pieces of music and so on during a time of economic turmoil and international war continues to amaze me. Out of all of the poetic pieces written within this period of history (so so so so many to choose from), one that I feel really characterizes the spirit of the Harlem Renaissance is "Juke Box Love Song" by Langston Hughes; this majestic little poem goes like this:

I could take the Harlem night

and wrap around you,

Take the neon lights and make a crown,

Take the Lenox Avenue busses,

Taxis, subways,

And for your love song tune their rumble down.

Take Harlem's heartbeat,

Make a drumbeat,

Put it on a record, let it whirl,

And while we listen to it play,

Dance with you till day--

Dance with you, my sweet brown Harlem girl.

Ok first things first, this poem just embodies jazz in my opinion; the smooth transitions and clever personification Langston Hughes uses in order to make the city around him and his "brown Harlem girl" come alive is mesmerizing. But more importantly, Hughes puts forth a message that allows one to really get a feel for what the spirit of the Harlem Renaissance was all about. Hughes and his counterpart are becoming one with the city; the duo "[taking] the neon lights and [making] a crown" makes a statement that’s pretty clear: they're the king and queen. The king and queen of the night. The king and queen of the moment. Harlem is their kingdom and in that particular instant their letting their worries drift away and simply becoming one with their city. From the making of a love song out of normal city rumbles to channeling in on the heartbeat of the city, the words written by Hughes shows that the Harlem Renaissance was a time of inspiration, innovation, and the bringing together or a community. As Hughes claims he simply wants to “dance with you till day” to his Harlem girl, a moment of enlightenment arises. They dance until the next day because nothing can bring their kingdom down. They dance until the next day because the surroundings of loved ones is the main source of drive that they need. They dance until the next day because with their city by their side, there’s nothing they can’t accomplish. Ya feel me?