This poem expresses the general sentiment of African Americans during the early 1900's. America has known as the land of opportunity, where dreams come true. However, for blacks during this time, this is not the case. While technically "free," racism, poverty, and social injustices abound, making it difficult if not impossible to actually acheive these dreams...thus, their dreams have been "deferred". This poem addresses that frustration, and ponders possible reactions from having your opportunities robbed. Do you give up? Do you become angry? Do you become complacent? To me, the last line is very powerful, because it aludes to the fact that people can only be held down so long before they revolt, or
