Heritage

“Yet Do I Marvel” by Countee Cullen (1925)

This poem is a strong example of Cullen’s efforts to work within the English literary tradition. It is a formal sonnet expressing wonder at god’s inscrutable ways. It could have been written by an English poet like Thomas Hardy or even Cullen’s hero John Keats, but it ends with these famous final lines that place the poem’s recognizable sentiments firmly into the context of Black existence: “Yet do I marvel at this curious thing: / To make a poet Black, and bid him sing.”

“Atlantic City Waiter” by Countee Cullen (1925)

In this poem, which consists of four regular quatrains—another traditional poetic form—Cullen praises the proud and graceful movements of an African American waiter and asserts that the waiter’s poise and grace originate in his African heritage: “Ten thousand years on jungle clues / Alone shaped feet like these.”

“Pagan Prayer” by Countee Cullen (1925)

This poem addresses the value of Christian faith for Black people. Like “Heritage,” it questions if meekness and humility are appropriate responses to suffering.