as i got older , langston hughes

It was a long time ago. I have almost forgotten my dream. But it was there then, In front of me, Bright like a sun-- My dream. And then the wall rose, Rose slowly, Slowly, Between me and my dream. Rose until it touched the sky-- The wall. Shadow. I am black. I lie down in the shadow. No longer the light of my dream before me, Above me. Only the thick wall. Only the shadow. My hands! My dark hands! Break through the wall! Find my dream! Help me to shatter this darkness, To smash this night, To break this shadow Into a thousand lights of sun, Into a thousand whirling dreams Of sun! ( www.poemhunter.com )  this poem is about the author (langston hughes) growing & being able to be successful and do what he always dreamed to which is being an artist, expressing his inner feelings and self to the readers. For example "To smash this night,To break this shadow Into a thousand lights of sun,Into a thousand whirling dreams Of sun!" he is saying that basically he's breaking the wall and the fear for african american people to be able to fulfill their dreams. The HR themes that are present in this poem are, 1: determination and fight against oppression, and this is present because he's proving that the stereo type that black people arent good for anything is proven wrong in this poem. Another one that is present is 2: pride, and the way pride is being used is because he has alot of self strength and will not stop with his dream. The last one that is being used is desire to reconstruct meaning of negro, he's trying to prove that black can people can do way more than the white people think we can. The poetic devices that are being used in this poem are, hyberbole, irony, and symbols. the way irony is being used is when he says "it was a long time ,  almost forgotten my dream" the way this is irony is because you would expect by the way the poem started that it would be a sad depressing poem. The way hyberbole is being used is when he says "my dark hands! break the wall! and find my dream!" and the way hyberbole is used is because its kind of exaggeration, because its clear thats not exactly what he mean. The way symbols are being used is when he says "rose until i touched the sky" this is a symbol of him saying he broke through and succeeded. I chose this because its a very inspirational poem. what was inspirational to me is that he said "My hands!My dark hands!Break through the wall!" and the reason this is inspirational to me is because in this quote he explaining how an african american can accomplish things and do what they always dreamed to. But based upon the poem itself i like it because its very motivational.