1 min read 105 words Updated Apr 13, 2026 Created Apr 13, 2026

Claude McKay

Bananas ripe and green, and ginger root
     Cocoa in pods and alligator pears,
And tangerines and mangoes and grape fruit,
     Fit for the highest prize at parish fairs,

Sat in the window, bringing memories
     of fruit-trees laden by low-singing rills,
And dewy dawns, and mystical skies
     In benediction over nun-like hills.

My eyes grow dim, and I could no more gaze;
     A wave of longing through my body swept,
And, hungry for the old, familiar ways
     I turned aside and bowed my head and wept.


appeared in 신인문학 vol. 2, issue 2 (1935/01) as 뉴육의 열대지방, tl. 노자영
accessed 2022/11/11, from poets.org