Quote by: Léopold Sédar Senghor

New York! I say New York, let black blood flow into your blood. Let it wash the rust from your steel joints, like an oil of life Let it give your bridges the curve of hips and supple vines. Now the ancient age returns, unity is restored, The recociliation of the Lion and Bull and Tree Idea links to action, the ear to the heart, sign to meaning. See your rivers stirring with musk alligators And sea cows with mirage eyes. No need to invent the Sirens. Just open your eyes to the April rainbow And your eyes, especially your ears, to God Who in one burst of saxophone laughter Created heaven and earth in six days, And on the seventh slept a deep Negro sleep.


Author Bio


  • NameLéopold Sédar Senghor
  • Descriptionfirst president of Senegal, poet, and cultural theorist (1906-2001)
  • BornOctober 9, 1906
  • DiedDecember 20, 2001
  • CountryFrance; Senegal
  • ProfessionPolitician; Poet; Writer
  • AwardsGrand Cross Of The Legion Of Honour; Grand Cross Of The National Order Of Merit; Commandeur Des Arts Et Des Lettres?; Commander Of The Order Of Academic Palms; Jawaharlal Nehru Award For International Understanding; Collar Of The Order Of Isabella The Catholic?; Prix Mondial Cino Del Duca; Prince Pierre Foundation; Peace Prize Of The German Book Trade