place of tears, whisper
of me, he sang a song that
reached the hearts of men
Adapted from “The Reward” by James Weldon Johnson.
No greater earthly boon than this I crave,
That those who some day gather ’round my grave,
In place of tears, may whisper of me then,
He sang a song that reached the hearts of men.”
As it appears in Fifty Years and Other Poems by James Weldon Johnson (Cornhill Company, Boston, 1917).
According to Wikipedia, James Weldon Johnson … in 1930, at the age of 59, Johnson returned to education after his many years leading the NAACP. He accepted the Spence Chair of Creative Literature at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. The university created the position for him in recognition of his achievements as a poet, editor and critic during the Harlem Renaissance. In addition to discussing literature, he lectured on a wide range of issues related to the lives and civil rights of black Americans. He held this position until his death. In 1934, he also was appointed as the first African-American professor at New York University, where he taught several classes in literature and culture.
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