Free Verse · Strength

I, Too

by Langston Hughes · 1926

I, too, sing America.

I am the darker brother.

They send me to eat in the kitchen

When company comes,

But I laugh,

And eat well,

And grow strong.

Tomorrow,

I'll sit at the table

When company comes.

Nobody'll dare

Say to me,

"Eat in the kitchen,"

Then.

Besides,

They'll see how beautiful I am

And be ashamed,—

I, too, am America.

Full-text availability follows the United States display decision recorded below; status can differ elsewhere.

“I, Too” by Langston Hughes — quilloak.com/poems/i-too

Quick facts

Poem: I, Too
Poet: Langston Hughes
Published: 1926
Length: 18 lines
Form: Free Verse
Themes: Strength, Hope, Power & Hubris

Craft notes

How this poem works

Measured from the text on this page, not copied from a summary. Counts are approximate: syllables and rhymes come from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, which models General American English, so dialect, older pronunciation, and performance can all change what you hear.

Shape: 18 lines · 5 stanzas of 1–7 lines
End rhyme: No regular perfect end rhyme. The poem may still be using slant rhyme, assonance, or internal echo, which this check does not score.
Refrains: “When company comes,”“When company comes.”Repeated lines act as the poem's hinge or drumbeat.

Want the rules this form is measured against? Read what makes a free verse, or run your own draft through the form checker to see the same measurements on your lines. How we measure · Report a mistake

Text, source & rights

A traceable edition

Full-text display is based on the cited edition and a United States term-expiry review.

Author record: Langston Hughes1902–1967
Source record: WikisourceI, Too by langston-hughes, Wikisource transcription
Display decision: Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-07-18
Publication record: The Weary Blues, 1926
Text fingerprint: SHA-256 0c81d34dc13044b2…
Editorial handling: Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.

Jurisdiction-specific, never a worldwide claimRights policy Report a text or rights issue

Free Verse Strength Hope Power & Hubris

Keep reading

Two Threads

The QuillOak Editors

Two threads alone are slender thingsthat any snag can sever,but twisted close, turn after turn,

8 lines · lyric

Success is counted sweetest

Emily Dickinson · 1864

Success is counted sweetestBy those who ne'er succeed.To comprehend a nectar

12 lines · lyric

I Am!

John Clare · 1848

I AM: yet what I am none cares or knows, My friends forsake me like a memory lost;I am the self-consumer of my woes,

18 lines · lyric

More poems about strength →