Countee Cullen (Каунти Каллен)
Simon the Cyrenian Speaks
He never spoke a word to me, And yet He called my name; He never gave a sign to me, And yet I knew and came. At first I said, ”I will not bear His cross upon my back; He only seeks to place it there Because my skin is black.” But He was dying for a dream, And He was very meek, And in His eyes there shone a gleam Men journey far to seek. It was Himself my pity bought; I did for Christ alone What all of Rome could not have wrought With bruise of lash or stone.
Countee Cullen’s other poems: