Negroes Speak of Rivers by Hughes
I know rivers: I know rivers as old as the world, older than the blood that flows in human veins. My soul became as deep as a river. I bathed in the Euphrates River in the morning light. I built a hut on the banks of the Congo River, and the gurgling water of the river lulled me to sleep. I looked down upon the Nile and built the pyramids on its banks. When Lincoln went to New Orleans, I heard the singing of the Mississippi River, and I saw its muddy breast shining golden in the sunset. I know rivers: old dark rivers. My soul became as deep as a river.