What Happens to a Dream Deferred? (Remix)

What happens to a Dream Deferred?
Does it get clear right before you wake up?
Is it one of your best experiences?
Does it put you in a place full of fun and love,
Then you wake up in a horrible place?
Do you forget it as soon as you finish sleeping,
Or do you never dream?

11 Comments

  1. Victoria on June 28, 2011 at 2:03 PM

    What happens to a dream deferred? They are so fragile and beyond our grasp. Hold your dream and make it real.

    Reply
  2. ljh on June 30, 2011 at 10:32 AM

    The ideas you are expressing here are really powerful. The idea of a dream as escape, paradise, fantasy – and then the contrast to a harsh waking world… This makes me sad, because it’s true and I can relate to it. I love that you are so inspired by Langston Hughes’ words!

    Reply
  3. Lana Frankle on July 3, 2011 at 5:20 PM

    I love this, especially the Langston Hughes reference and the way you incorporated that line into your own poem in a new way.

    Reply
  4. Abby on August 10, 2011 at 1:33 PM

    Kudos for bringing the remix to poetry! Have you read Lorraine Hansbury’s play “A Raisin in the Sun?” it gets it’s name from Hughes’ poem and is truly a great piece of American Drama, plus Danny Glover was in it and who doesn’t love Danny Glover?!

    Reply
  5. will on August 11, 2011 at 10:32 AM

    i know how you feel

    Reply
  6. sade on August 11, 2011 at 10:34 AM

    ALWAYS hold on to your dreams no mattter wat

    Reply
  7. Jaxson Pawlowski on October 16, 2022 at 2:29 PM

    I have for sure had many great dreams while sleeping to the point where it sucks to wake up! It makes the day considerably worse because it can never live up to the dream! I enjoyed this poem because I and many others can relate to it!

    I hope you continue to write and I hope you can reach your dreams.

    ~JP

    Reply
  8. Korielle J on January 5, 2025 at 3:45 PM

    I enjoy a questioning tone in a poem, it kinda makes me wonder. how the language feels so implied yet so profound. Only a great writer can make something out of a short escalating piece

    Reply
  9. Anna on January 14, 2025 at 11:13 PM

    Wow! This truly makes you think about the nature of dreams and how they can affect our lives.

    Reply
  10. Korielle J on January 22, 2025 at 10:35 PM

    Wow writer. Your writing just comes to life. Every question adds emphasis, I can only wonder!

    Reply
  11. Korielle M on January 29, 2025 at 8:50 PM

    I think this poem is very questioning, which usually the best poems are, they make you question and wonder. Great piece!

    Reply

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