If we must die—let it not be like hogs
Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot,
While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs,
Making their mock at our accursed lot.
If we must die—oh, let us nobly die,
So that our precious blood may not be shed
In vain; then even the monsters we defy
Shall be constrained to honor us though dead!
Oh, Kinsmen! We must meet the common foe;
Though far outnumbered, let us show us brave,
And for their thousand blows deal one deathblow!
What though before us lies the open grave?
Like men we'll face the murderous, cowardly pack,
Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back!
appeared in:
삼천리 vol. 4, issue 8 (1932/07) as 만일 우리가 죽어야 한다면, tl. 김태선
신인문학 vol. 2, issue 4 (1935/06) as 어차피 죽어야 할몸이든가, tl. 노자영
신천지 vol. 4, issue 1 (1949/01) as 만일죽어야된다면은, tl. 김종욱
조선일보 (1934.01.20) in 흑인문학, 니그로문학의 성장, tl. 한설야
accessed 2022/10/31, from poets.org