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Harlem (Dream Deferred) Transience Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (line)

Quote #4

Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load. (9-10)

When things sag it's usually because they've had to support a heavy load for too long. We associate sagging with the passage of time. Whereas meat can go bad in the matter of days, we imagine it takes months or years for things to begin sagging. In this way, our speaker points to the gradual passage of time.

Quote #5

Or does it explode? (11)

What happens when things explode? They change form. They become fragments of a whole.