Introduction

I fell in love with poetry after hearing this poem.  It also serves as the theme to one of my most beloved plays, A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry. Share your dreams with children and encourage them to share their dreams with you.

Harlem

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up

like a raisin in the sun

or fester like a sore-

and then run?

Does it stink like rotten meat?

or crust and sugar over-

like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags

like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

                               Langston Hughes

Extension

Invite a successful community leader to speak with children. Ask the individual to share the dreams they had as children, as teens, and those they have as adults. Have children create visuals (pictures) of their dreams in the form of a collage.