Freedom
Freedom will not come
Today, this year
Nor ever
Through compromise and fear.
I have as much right
As the other fellow has
To stand
On my two feet
And own the land.
I tire so of hearing people say,
Let things take their course.
Tomorrow is another day.
I do not need my freedom when I’m dead.
I cannot live on tomorrow’s bread.
Freedom
Is a strong seed
Planted
In a great need.
I live here, too.
I want my freedom
Just as you.
Notes
Standing in solidarity with students in Delhi taking to the streets to demand justice, Hughes’s "Freedom" echoes across time as a fierce refusal to accept state delays, hollow promises, or compromise. It grounds July’s spirit of breaking free in an urgent, uncompromising present, declaring that true liberation is a vital necessity that cannot be doled out in slow, comfortable installments. By insisting that rights belong to us now rather than at some distant point of political convenience, the poem serves as a timeless anthem for every youth movement standing tall against authority. . #poetry #delhi #summer #freedom #youth