Langston Hughes: Poems
DEMOCRACY
"I do not need freedom when I am dead", do you think it is a strong statement? What do you suggest?
"I do not need freedom when I am dead", do you think it is a strong statement? What do you suggest?
The speaker is turning all of those common idioms to illustrate the point that he needs freedom while he is alive just as he needs to eat bread while he is alive. Both freedom and bread are useless to him when he is dead.