Ray Boyd, A Pioneer Of African American (soul) Urban Line Dancing (online excerpts and YouTube videos)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part Ii of a two part pancocojams series about two pioneers of African American (soul) urban line dancing: Dave Bush and Ray Boyd.

This post presents information about Dave Bush and showcases three YouTube videos about Ray Boyd and his line dances. 

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2026/09/dave-bush-jr-godfather-of-african.html for Part I of this pancocojams series. That post presents information about Ray Boyd and showcases three YouTube videos of Ray Boyd's line dance choreography. 

The content of this post is presented for historical, socio-cultural, and entertainment purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Ray Boyd for his cultural legacy. Thanks to all those who are featured in these showcased videos and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the videographers and publishers of these videos.

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INFORMATION ABOUT RAYMOND (RAY) BOYD

[Pancocojams Editor's Note: The words or letters in brackets are my addition to or suggested correction of something in this excerpt.

I believe that "he" in the following excerpt refers to Ray Boyd.] 

https://urbanlinedancehistory.com/pioneers-q-z [The letter 'q" is probably a typo for the letter "a"]

"It is with great pleasure that I have the opportunity to introduce the community award and lifetime achievement [to] individual[s] who ha[ve] been instrumental to many in our community of Urban R & B SOUL Line Dance.

Their journey in dance started as early as 2 years old where they were introduced to Tap Dancing that later influences of dance with Ballet, Jazz and Modern Dance were added to their dancing ‘STYLE’ – This nurtures the appreciation we all have for the smooth style, SLIDE or GLIDE the closes with the smooth SNAP in each and every move on the floor.

When the EAST COAST began to meet and greet the Midwest at the LINE, he was right there with his Smooth and Suave manners yet ROCKING it out on the floor with the best of his dance colleagues.

The beginning of his Soul Line Dance journey is attributed to the Godfather of Line Dance, Dave Bush who introduced the Philadelphia Delaware Valley area to this dancing style known as Line Dancing. The early dances that marked a start of his enjoyment with dance was with the “Stiff Leg” Style and engaging in various challenges and competitions that started way back in his high school years. The early connections to dance with the God Father of Line Dance, Dave Bush were known as ‘Silky Smooth’ and “Carpet baggers” between 1964-1966. The first SOUL line dance learned was the “Detroit Strut’ also known as – Jazzy Lady.

Over the years of his LOVE for dancing he has shared his vocals, choreography, and SMOOTH STYLING on the LINE, Chicago Stepping and to the native Bop, Strand and 2-Stepping in Philadelphia. He has also taught with a Philadelphia late and great “Otis Givens” with Salsa and Chicago Stepping.

Early influences with choreography were during his performance and singing career – he would prepare the routines for stage engagement. Although his creative style and energy began throughout all of the aforementioned experiences, when he retired in 2005 – he was determined to enjoy life and, in his words, “Do what HE wants to DO” – This meant teaching all the styles of dance that he enjoyed and loving the performances, showcases, competitions and opportunities he began to encounter.

He would be known to gather dancers within the Dave Bush Dancers and later Tri-State Elite to showcase a new choreography at every opportunity that his mind would CREATE! He has shared that his favorite collaboration was with fellow Lifetime Achievement, Bernardette Burnette – “Share My Life”. Additionally, he favors the dances and collaborations of “Fab 4’, “Kick that Shhh…”, “Level 322”, ‘Sensual Sensai’, “Daddy V and HUSH – just to name a few.

He was one of the original dancers of “Souline” TV show and the next generation of Soul Line television with “Grooveline” Promo TV. When his daughter Victoria was 5 years old, he introduced her to the community with Dave Bush Dancers and she has collaborated with her father and other dance contributions as well.

He values and believes in maintaining health with movement and variety of other strategies. Movement is one of the most important things to him for everyone. During the pandemic, he held Line Dance, Salsa, and Chicago stepping class outside at the tennis courts in Philadelphia Fairmont Park. 

[...]

As we welcome him to the floor to greet and acknowledge his contribution and achievement at the current age of 74 – We refer to him as the Sensai, the Master Teacher – the One and Only Raymond Boyd. We honor your contributions to the urban dance community and welcome you to this community with your fellow LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD RECIPIENTS and plenty more years of LOVE, Dance and Freedom."

" More info about Raymond Boyd (Ray Boyd) from UC Star Awards Jan 2023.

age - he said, "74 and looking for more"

 referred to as - "Sensai", "Master Teacher", or "Ray, Don't call me Mr."

 Ray loves performing it makes him very HAPPY. His mother taught him to tap dance at the age of 3 and by 5 years old, the "ledge" in his basement was his stage.

 He attributes the beginning of his Soul line dance journey to Dave Bush, "The Godfather" of line dancing in the Delaware Valley. Starting with the "Stiff Leg" Style Cha Cha Challenges back in High school in 1964 thru 1966, where Dave and Ray danced with groups like "Silky Smooth" and the "Carpetbaggers".

 Ray said the first line dance was singing groups. He did choreograph for groups he sang with back in the day.

 Ray went to a South Philly Dance Academy learning Tap, Ballet, Jazz, and Modern dance. We can see the influences of this training in his "STYLE" of dance and choreography. He likes to Slide, Glide and gives us that "Snap".

When Ray retired in 2005 he decided he was going to "DO what HE wants to DO".  That was teaching dance. Throughout this time he taught, choreographed, and performed with "Tri-State Elite", Shante Lee (SILK), and the Dave Bush Dancers.

The 1st Soul Line dance he learned was the "Detroit Strut" (Jazzy Lady)

The 1st Soul Line dance he Choreographed was "Mr. Quick"

He does Salsa, and taught Chicago Stepping with the late Great "Otis Givens".

Performed in both Competitions and Showcases

Traveled around the country for dances and events in the Midwest, has been honored in Atlanta Baltimore, Philadelphia, and through the line dance community nationally.

Brought the youngest of 5 children, 33-year-old Victoria to Dave Bush's class with him when SHE was only 5 years old. She later continues to dance and also collaborated dances with her dad.

Some of the dances and collabs Ray created: "Share My Life", "Fab 4", 'Kick that SH..", "Level 322", "Sensual Sensai", "Daddy V" and "HUSH" just to name a few.

Ray was one of the original dancers on the "Soulline" TV show and "Grooveline" Promo TV

During the pandemic, Ray Boyd held line dance classes outside at the tennis court.

Ray promotes "FAMILY" and "FUN".

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From Urban Line Dance Connection Interview Profiles. Thanks Nichol.  
My name is Raymond Boyd Sr. and my nickname in the industry is Sensei. 

I am from North Philadelphia, and Philadelphia is my home.

Professionally, I’m a dance instructor. In addition to dancing, I   enjoy playing tennis and chess.

In my home town we call this dance craze “line dancing”.

The very first dance group I was affiliated with was the Dave   Bush Dancers.  In addition, I was with Tri State Elite Dancers and   Carpet Baggers.

I have been dancing all my life.  My mother taught me   how to tap when I was 2.

I got involved with dancing when Dave Bush taught in his basement.  I wasn’t really a student….I was always a dancer.

After I attended my first class I felt special, confident and   happy as hell.

I used to do choreography for my singing group in the early 60's   called Ethics Group.  Observation: He never told us he was a singer! LOL Back to the normal questions.

I have created over 50 dances and the first dance I created was Mister Quick.

My favorite collab is Share My Life and my favorite solo dance is Kick That Shhhhhhhhhh."...

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SHOWCASE VIDEO #1-Ep 1: Interview with Raymond Boyd, Line Dance Choreographer and Instructor, Philadelphia PA

410 TV, Feb 4, 2018

UC Awards Soul Line Dancing, UC Awards 2018 

410 TV traveled to UC Awards 2018 to interview some of the most influential soul line dancers today. We had a great opportunity to interview the "legendary" Raymond Boyd of Philadelphia, PA. 

410 TV mission is to help increase awareness of soul line dancing, we’re bringing the best of the 410 Line Dancers experience to YouTube. Introducing 410 TV.   It’s 410 Line Dancers TV designed for the Soul Line Dancing, YouTube generation.  We hope you enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7MGMVqQFRs

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SHOWCASE VIDEO #2-Terminal Reaction

iamkennyj, May 29, 2009

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9CUf6MKhV0&t=11s

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SHOWCASE VIDEO #3 - RAY BOYD DANCES F O P MOTOWN NIGHT 07 26 2012

Tamika Shipman (Paparazzi), Aug 21, 2012

Ray Boyd was celebrated at the F.O.P. in Philadelphia for his birthday (I won't tell his age). The dances highlighted are GOOD FOOT, TERMINAL REACTION, SENSUAL SENSEI, and SETENTA y DOS salsa line dance. Please excuse the recording for Sensual Sensei. My camera was off centered but it's one of Ray's dances loved by many so I had to show it anyway. All the dances shown were created by Ray Boyd. I wanna be like Ray when I grow up!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUVW8RZXYJQ

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This concludes Part II of this pancocojams series.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Dave Bush, Jr. -The Godfather Of African American (soul) Urban Line Dancing (online excerpts and YouTube videos)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part I of a two part pancocojams series about two pioneers of African American (soul) urban line dancing: Dave Bush and Ray Boyd.

This post presents information about Dave Bush and showcases three YouTube videos about Dave Bush and the Dave Bush Dancers. 

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2026/09/ray-boyd-pioneer-of-african-american.html for Part II of this pancocojams series. That post presents information about Ray Boyd and showcases three YouTube videos of Ray Boyd's line dance choreography. 

The content of this post is presented for historical, socio-cultural, and entertainment purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Dave Bush for his cultural legacy. Thanks also to the Dave Bush dancers and all those who are featured in these showcased videos. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the videographers and publishers of these videos.

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INFORMATION ABOUT DAVE BUSH 
Online Source #1
From https://www.phillytrib.com/obituaries/david-bush-jr-66-line-dance-innovator/article_817119e1-5fbe-5219-b547-c3476d765397.html David Bush Jr., 66, line dance innovator [obituary]
written by Ayana Jones Jun 2, 2013  

"David Bush Jr. was known as the “godfather of line dancing.”

Bush died on Saturday, May 25, 2013. He was 66.

He was born Feb. 16, 1947 to the late David and Willie Bush in New Bern, N.C. He was educated in the Philadelphia public school system and graduated from Simon Gratz High School in 1965. He was a member of Bright Hope Baptist Church.

He worked for the city of Philadelphia for 35 years as an inspector for the Health Department before retiring in February 2002.

Bush’s pastime was creating complicated dances. He started dancing at age 7 and took tap lessons until he was 13. He entered various talent shows while in grade and high school. As a teenager he learned to bop and cha-cha, but in his adult years, Bush perfected different dance styles.

“Dances kept forming in my head, from that point on, I would see visions. The visions would take me down to my basement to put the vision to foot action. These visions would come to me around three or four o’clock in the morning,” he once said.

Bush choreographed his first line dance, the “Bus Stop” in March 1991 during a casual basement dance session with friends. He began teaching line dance classes in his basement, several nights during the week. He continued to create dances such as the “Silky Smooth,” “Chesterfunk,” Grand Stand,” “Sakeem” and the “Running Man.”

In 1997, Bush selected 10 of his best students to participate in the Apollo Talent Showcase held at Cheyney University. The original Dave Bush Dancers were comprised of Karen Grady, Cherrill Conway, Shirley Sowell, Pam Perry, Deborah Willis, Sakeem Parks, Rikk Goodman, Cary Edwards, Rufus Oliver and Bush. The group would win the talent showcase and move on to appear at the legendary Showtime at the Apollo Amateur Night in New York.

Thereafter, Bush would add more members to the group. The Dave Bush Dancers would grow to as many as 18 members. They performed at many venues such as Unity Day, African American Culture Festival at Penn’s Landing and many community and social events in Philadelphia and throughout the East Coast.

Bush received the Union Crew Lifetime Achievement Award and was recognized with a City Council citation on Sept. 24, 2008."

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ONLINE EXCERPTS #2
[Numbers added for referencing purposes only.]

From https://www.facebook.com/groups/650305159094833/posts/1205586910233319/ Infamous Line Dance Page

1. Earl Miller Jr., July 26, 2022
"Dave Bush - Godfather of Soul Line Dancing doing his dance - Nasty Girl known today as the Wobble. Never forget!" [a brief film clip of Dave Bush doing this dance is given after that comment.]

**
2.Bernadette Burnette, 2022
"Thanks for sharing E! This dance was choreographed in 2004 and put on VHS tape"

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SHOWCASE VIDEO #1-Dave Bush on Grooveline

GroovelineTV, Feb 15, 2008

Groove Line is The Soul Train of the 21st century. Featuring a regular cadre of polished, sophisticated, rhapsodic, elegant and funky "line dancers" whose moves are choreographed, coordinated, intricate and just plain fun to watch. Each show will feature demonstrations of new steps, new beats, new patterns captured with five cameras which survey all of the action in close-up, as well as roving imagery so that viewers at home will be encouraged to dance along. There will be "dance-offs," "team competitions" and prizes for the "best" in various categories where viewers at home can get in on the action by voting for their favorites and win prizes in the process. Grooveline is brought to you by BEMA, the Black Entertainment and Music Association.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPFXwbzgGKU

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SHOWCASE VIDEO #2- Dave Bush, Jr-The Innovator /Line Dance Creator

KayKreates Music, May 25, 2016

Watch as Mr. Dave Bush, Jr. ...The Innovator/Line Dance Creator, wow you with his theatrics! This video contains, rare clips of Mr. Bush, when he used to teach line dances in his basement. It also showcases his unique style back in the late '90's, when he was able to perform with his 1st generation of dancers. This video is dedicated to his memory. (2-16-47~5-25-13) 

PLEASE NOTE Error: [The awards to the 1st generation DBDz were in 2015  but the credits read 2016].    KayK Music & GradeA Vidz

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39l8eR2XbvQ&t=128s

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SHOWCASE VIDEO #3 - The Dave Bush Dancers-Funky Makossa Routine 1997

KayRae GradeA, Sep 2, 2015

Takin' U back 2 when we 1st started performing with Dave Bush. This one right here, is our 1st affair as The Dave Bush Dancers. We started out as 10 members, but quickly grew to 18 strong.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-40Y0nxmLYg&t=20s
-snip-
Read the comment section below for the inspiration for the word "Makossa" in the name of this Dave Bush line dance.

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This concludes Part I of this pancocojams series.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visior comments are welcome.

De Batoro -"Yidjindja" (2013 YouTube video of a Bukina Faso song & dance)

DE BATORO - Yidjindja

Live.ci Télé, May 7, 2015
-snip-
The Enflish translation of of the Lyélé word "Yidjindja" - "The hand of God is powerful."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udMvd6r8FPc&lc=UgwE0mvwmNyIKk5fbIJ4AaABAg.8fP5MVzx1CTAb3Wmt-XDp_
-snip-
Most of this video shows men and women wearing traditional West African clothing performing  footwork dances outdoors to this up tempo song.

This video provides some scenes of life in Bukina Faso, a nation that isn't well known in the United States and in many other nations outside of West Africa.

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Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post showcases the 2015 YouTube video of the up tempo dance song "Yidjindja" by the musician De Batoro from Bukina Faso.

This post presents information about the nation of Bukina Faso along with five comments from that video's discussion thread. (Full disclosure - I wrote three of those comments.) 

The content of this post is presented for socio-cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to De Batoro and thanks to all those who are featured in this video. Thanks to all those who were associated with this video and all those who are quoted in this post.

Special thanks to @dabeast6672 who posted a reply YouTube in 2019 to my questions about this song.

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INFORMATION ABOUT BUKINA FASO
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burkina_Faso
"Burkina Faso[b] is a landlocked country in West Africa.[3] It is bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,878 sq mi). In 2024, the country had an estimated population of approximately 23,286,000.[13] Its citizens are known as Burkinabes, and its capital and largest city is Ouagadougou. 

The largest ethnic group in Burkina Faso is the Mossi people, who settled the area in the 11th and 13th centuries. They established kingdoms such as Ouagadougou, Tenkodogo, and Yatenga. In 1896, it was colonized by the French as part of French West Africa; in 1958, Upper Volta became a self-governing colony within the French Community. In 1960, it gained full independence with Maurice Yaméogo as the president. Since it gained its independence, the country has dealt with political instability, droughts, famines, and corruption. There have been various coups d'état, in 1966, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1987, and twice in 2022, in January and September. There were also unsuccessful coup attempts in 1989, 2015, and 2023.

Burkina Faso remains one of the least developed countries in the world, with a GDP of $16.226 billion in 2022. Approximately 63.8% of its population practices Islam, while 26.3% practices Christianity and 9% animistic religions, especially in the southwest of the country.[14] The country's official languages are all national languages[15][16] while Mooré is spoken by more than half of the population. There are more than 60 indigenous languages, and the constitution provides for other languages to be made official by law. The former government and business language was French until January 2024 when, alongside English, its status was demoted to that of a "working language" by ratification of a constitutional amendment.[17][18]

The country's territory is geographically biodiverse, and includes plentiful reserves of gold, manganese, copper and limestone. Due to its multicultural make-up, Burkinabè art has a rich and long history, and is globally renowned for its orthodox style.[19]

The country is governed as a semi-presidential republic, with executive, legislative and judicial powers. It is a member of the United Nations and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. Since 2025, Burkina Faso has formalised its exit from ECOWAS and La Francophonie, after it helped form the Alliance of Sahel States (AES). It also remains suspended from the African Union.

Etymology

Formerly the Republic of Upper Volta, the country was renamed "Burkina Faso" on 4 August 1984 by then-President Thomas Sankara. The words "Burkina" and "Faso" stem from different languages spoken in the country: "Burkina" comes from Mooré and means "upright", showing how the people are proud of their integrity. "Faso" comes from the Dyula language, as written in N'Ko: ߝߊ߬ߛߏ߫ faso, and means "fatherland", literally, "father's house". The "-bé" suffix added onto "Burkina" to form the demonym "Burkinabé" comes from the Fula language and means "women or men".[20] The US Central Intelligence Agency's World Fact Book gives the translation as "Land of the Honest (Incorruptible) Men".[21]

The French Colony of Upper Volta was named for its location on the upper courses of the Volta River, the Black, Red and White Volta.[22]"

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SELECTED COMMENTS FROM THE DISCUSSION THREAD OF THIS YOUTUBE VIDEO
(Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.)

1. @azizip171, 2018
"I'm an African American who just happened upon this video while looking for African music and dances. I hope that someone will share (in English or French which I'll translate through Google translate) what the title of the song means, what this song is about, what nation the singer is from, and what language this is.

I'd love to showcase it on my pancocojams cultural blog.

Unfortunately I only understand English, and that's true for a lot of people in the United States. But I think that more people who only understand English would love this song and this type of music if these videos included the type of information that I requested above.

Thank you and One Love!"

**
Reply
2. @dabeast6672, 2019
"Azizi Powell The singer is from Burkina Faso and he sings in Lyélé, one of the  country local languages. The title could be translate as "The hand of God is powerful" and the song is about perseverance, hope, courage... things like that...

Peace"

**
Reply
3. @BernadetteBamouni-v5g8s, 2026
"❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️"

**
Reply
4. @azizip171, 2026
"Greeting, @dabeast6672.  Thanks for your reply to my comment that you wrote seven years ago. I'm so sorry that I've just became aware of your reply as a result of receiving a notification about another reply to my comment that was just posted today.

Best wishes to you and thanks again for sharing information about this song!"

**
5. @azizip171, 2026
"@BernadetteBamouni-v5g8s  thank you for giving hearts to this video. As a result of your hearts I received a notification that you had added those hearts and that another commenter had answered my questions about this video way back in 2019.

Thanks also to the publisher of this video on YouTube.

Here's a link to the post about this video that I just published on my cultural blog. I'd love to add information about De Batoro to that post

[...]

Best wishes!"

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Visitor comments are welcome.

 

Langston Hughes - "A Dream Deferred" (1951 poem information, words, & video) 2026 complete reprint

Edited by Azizi Powell

[This is a complete reprint of the 2014 pancocojams post on this subjec. That post is still found on this blog and is reprinted to increase its availability.]

This post showcases a YouTube example of Langston Hughes' 1951 poem "A Dream Deferred". This post also includes information about Langston Hughes and his "Dream Deferred" montage which contains the poem that begins "What happens to a dream deferred". The complete words to that short poem are also included in this post.

The content of this post is presented for cultural, historical, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Langston Hughes for his creative legacies. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.

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INFORMATION ABOUT LANGSTON HUGHES
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langston_Hughes
"James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1902 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist. He was one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form called jazz poetry. Hughes is best known as a leader of the Harlem Renaissance."...

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From http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/83
..."[Langston] Hughes, who claimed Paul Lawrence Dunbar, Carl Sandburg, and Walt Whitman as his primary influences, is particularly known for his insightful, colorful portrayals of black life in America from the twenties through the sixties. He wrote novels, short stories and plays, as well as poetry, and is also known for his engagement with the world of jazz and the influence it had on his writing, as in his book-length poem Montage of a Dream Deferred (Holt, 1951). His life and work were enormously important in shaping the artistic contributions of the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s. Unlike other notable black poets of the period—Claude McKay, Jean Toomer, and Countee Cullen—Hughes refused to differentiate between his personal experience and the common experience of black America. He wanted to tell the stories of his people in ways that reflected their actual culture, including both their suffering and their love of music, laughter, and language itself."...

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INFORMATION ABOUT LANGSTON HUGHES'S "MONTAGE OF A DREAM DEFERRED"
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montage_of_a_Dream_Deferred
"Montage of a Dream Deferred is a book-length poem suite published by Langston Hughes in 1951. Its jazz poetry style focuses on descriptions of Harlem (a neighborhood of New York City) and its mostly African-American inhabitants.[1] The original edition was 75 pages long and comprised 91 individually titled poems, which were intended to be read as a single long poem.[2] Hughes' prefatory note for the book explained his intentions in writing the collection:

In terms of current Afro-American popular music and the sources from which it progressed— jazz, ragtime, swing, blues, boogie-woogie, and be-bop—this poem on contemporary Harlem, like be-bop, is marked by conflicting changes, sudden nuances, sharp and impudent interjections, broken rhythms, and passages sometimes in the manner of a jam session, sometimes the popular song, punctuated by the riffs, runs, breaks, and disc-tortions of the music of a community in transition.[3]

The primary motif of the poem is the "dream deferred", which represents the opposition between Harlem of the 1950s and the rest of the world.[4] Other motifs include boogie-woogie and discrimination against African-Americans. The poem is characterized by its use of the montage, a cinematic technique of quickly cutting from one scene to another in order to juxtapose disparate images, and its use of contemporary jazz modes like boogie-woogie, bop and bebop, both as subjects in the individual short poems and as a method of structuring and writing the poetry.[5] The poem is divided into five sections (although some editions contain six); each section represents a different time of day in Harlem, moving from dawn through the night to the dawn of the following day. The poem begins and ends with the same two lines: "Good morning, daddy! / Ain't you heard?".[5] Montage of a Dream Deferred was Langston Hughes' first major publication following the end of World War II.[5] Its themes include the subjugation of the black community, African-American racial consciousness and history, and the need for social change to resolve the injustices faced by the residents of Harlem."
-snip-
The short poem that begins "What happens to a dream deferred" is part of this montage.

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WORDS TO THE POEM: DREAM DEFERRED (HARLEM)
By Langston Hughes

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore--
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79YjXKYeWCk

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SHOWCASE EXAMPLE

A Dream Deferred



Huntington Theatre Company, Published on Feb 13, 2013

What happens to a dream deferred? LeRoy McClain ("Walter Lee Younger" in the production) performs the classic poem by Langston Hughes. The Huntington's production of Lorraine Hansberry's timeless family story A RAISIN IN THE SUN, directed by Liesl Tommy, plays March 8 - April 7, 2013 at the Avenue of the Arts / BU Theatre.
-snip-
Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Raisin_in_the_Sun to read about the 1959 play A Raisin In The Sun

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