| James Weldon Johnson, ed. (1871–1938). The Book of American Negro Poetry. 1922. |
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| Children of the Sun |
| | | Fenton Johnson |
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| WE are children of the sun, | |
| Rising sun! | |
| Weaving Southern destiny, | |
| Waiting for the mighty hour | |
| When our Shiloh shall appear | 5 |
| With the flaming sword of right, | |
| With the steel of brotherhood, | |
| And emboss in crimson die | |
| Liberty! Fraternity! | |
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| We are the star-dust folk, | 10 |
| Striving folk! | |
| Sorrow songs have lulled to rest; | |
| Seething passions wrought through wrongs, | |
| Led us where the moon rays dip | |
| In the night of dull despair, | 15 |
| Showed us where the star gleams shine, | |
| And the mystic symbols glow— | |
| Liberty! Fraternity! | |
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| We have come through cloud and mist, | |
| Mighty men! | 20 |
| Dusk has kissed our sleep-born eyes, | |
| Reared for us a mystic throne | |
| In the splendor of the skies, | |
| That shall always be for us, | |
| Children of the Nazarene, | 25 |
| Children who shall ever sing | |
| Liberty! Fraternity! | |
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