Arna was a poet born on October 13, 1902 in Alexadria, Louisiana. He was a son of a creole bricklayer and a schoolteacher. At age three he and his family moved to Los Angeles and later was sent to San Fernando Academy Boarding School. He wrote many books featuring African Americans, for example, God Sends Sunday in 1931 and Black Thunder 1936. He posted many of his poems in the magazines Crisis and Oppurtunity. Although while he was working to write and publish his own auto biography he died on June 4th, 1973.
God Give to Men by Arna Bontemps
God give the yellow man
an easy breeze at blossom time.
Grant his eager, slanting eyes to cover
every land and dream
of afterwhile.
Give blue-eyed men their swivel chairs
to whirl in tall buildings.
Allow them many ships at sea,
and on land, soldiers
and policemen.
For black man, God,
no need to bother more
but only fill afresh his meed
of laughter,
his cup of tears.
God suffer little men
the taste of soul's desire.
an easy breeze at blossom time.
Grant his eager, slanting eyes to cover
every land and dream
of afterwhile.
Give blue-eyed men their swivel chairs
to whirl in tall buildings.
Allow them many ships at sea,
and on land, soldiers
and policemen.
For black man, God,
no need to bother more
but only fill afresh his meed
of laughter,
his cup of tears.
God suffer little men
the taste of soul's desire.