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Free Verse · Life

The Negro Speaks of Rivers

by Langston Hughes · 1921

1I've known rivers:

2I've known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins.

3My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

4I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young.

5I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep.

6I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it.

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

“The Negro Speaks of Rivers” by Langston Hughes — quilloak.com/poems/the-negro-speaks-of-rivers

Quick facts

Poem
The Negro Speaks of Rivers
Poet
Langston Hughes
Published
1921
Length
6 lines
Form
Free Verse
Themes
Life, Strength, Inspirational

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
6 lines · 3 stanzas of 1–3 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.
The poem’s silhouette — approximate syllables per line, measured from the text above. Even bars mean a measured line; ragged bars mean the poem sets its own widths.

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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
WikisourceThe Negro Speaks of Rivers by langston-hughes, Wikisource transcription
Display decision
Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-07-18
Publication record
The Crisis, 1921
Text fingerprint
SHA-256 c04ee9a592457a97…
Editorial handling
Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.
Jurisdiction-specific, never a worldwide claimRights policyReport a text or rights issue
Free VerseLifeStrengthInspirational

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