Futility
July 5, 2023A Memory of June
July 5, 2023Alfonso, Dressing to Wait at Table
Alfonso is a handsome bronze-hued lad
Of subtly-changing and surprising parts;
His moods are storms that frighten and make glad,
His eyes were made to capture women’s hearts.
Down in the glory-hole Alfonso sings
An olden song of wine and clinking glasses
And riotous rakes; magnificently flings
Gay kisses to imaginary lasses.
Alfonso’s voice of mellow music thrills
Our swaying forms and steals our hearts with joy;
And when he soars, his fine falsetto trills
Are rarest notes of gold without alloy.
But, O Alfonso! wherefore do you sing
Dream-songs of carefree men and ancient places?
Soon we shall be beset by clamouring
Of hungry and importunate palefaces.
Claude McKay
Claude McKay (1889-1948) was a Jamaican poet, novelist, and social activist who was a key figure in the Harlem Renaissance. His work often explores the experiences of black people in America and Jamaica, as well as issues of race, colonialism, and identity. His notable works include "Songs of Jamaica," "Banjo," and "Harlem Shadows."