AfroPoets Famous Writers
YOUTH
Beloved, do not warn me
Of birds too highly flown;
Your word is not enough for
me--
I must have my own.
I was young and did not know
Anything could hurt me so.
I was gay, and failed to see
What there was to torture me.
I may be destroyed, but I
Shall not let this life go by.
(No, no!-destroy these tales
Of birds too highly flown.
Your word is not enough for
me-
I must have my own!)
Written by James Baldwin (1924-1987)
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