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I Know My Soul

  1. I plucked my soul out of its secret place,

  2. And held it to the mirror of my eye,

  3. To see it like a star against the sky,

  4. A twitching body quivering in space,

  5. A spark of passion shining on my face.

  6. And I explored it to determine why

  7. This awful key to my infinity

  8. Conspires to rob me of sweet joy and grace.

  9. And if the sign may not be fully read,

  10. If I can comprehend but not control,

  11. I need not gloom my days with futile dread,

  12. Because I see a part and not the whole.

  13. Contemplating the strange, I'm comforted

  14. By this narcotic thought: I know my soul.

Contents:

Harlem Shadows (1922)

Additional Poems by Claude McKay

Contemporary Reviews

Supplementary Texts