"O Word I Love to Sing", from <ref target="http://harlemshadows.org">Harlem Shadows: A Digital Edition</ref> This file is produced from the material at Harlem Shadows: A Digital Edition December 6, 2015 Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommerical 4.0 International This file is generated from a master file containing the text of Claude McKay's 1922 collection of poems Harlem Shadows and related documents (other appearances of McKay's poems, reviews, and related material). The base text for this file is drawn from the item listed below. Claude McKay O Word I Love to Sing Harlem Shadows New York Harcourt, Brace, and Company 1922 63 O Word I Love to Sing O word I love to sing! thou art too tender For all the passions agitating me; For all my bitterness thou art too tender, I cannot pour my red soul into thee. O haunting melody! thou art too slender, Too fragile like a globe of crystal glass; For all my stormy thoughts thou art too slender, The burden from my bosom will not pass. O tender word! O melody so slender! O tears of passion saturate with brine, O words, unwilling words, ye can not render My hatred for the foe of me and mine.