Love was much too much for me to wear, Countee Cullen

All night we danced upon our windy hill,
Your dress a cloud of tangled midnight hair,
And love was much too much for me to wear.

Countee Cullen, excerpt from The Dance of Love in Color (1925)

I will take your soul, Langston Hughes

I will not be satisfied
With the little words you say to me.
I will not be satisfied
With the touch of your hand
Nor the sweet of your lips alone.
I will take your heart for mine.
I will take your soul.

Langston Hughes (1902 – 1967), excerpt from To Artina in Selected Poems

Let us roam the night together, Langston Hughes

I love you.

Come,
Let us roam the night together
Singing.

Langston Hughes (1902 – 1967), excerpt from Harlem Night Song in Selected Poems

Could Be, Langston Hughes

Could be you love me,
Could be that you don’t.
Might be that you’ll come back,
Like as not you won’t.

Langston Hughes (1902 – 1967), excerpt from Could Be in Selected Poems

And drink the passion burning in your frame, Claude McKay

To clasp you now and feel your head close-pressed,
Scented and warm against my beating breast;
To whisper soft and quivering your name,
And drink the passion burning in your frame

Charles McKay, excerpt from Romance published in Harlem Shadows (1922)