# Help needed in identifying a poem

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-needed-in-identifying-a-poem/292839>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [March 4, 2005, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-needed-in-identifying-a-poem/292839 "2005-03-04T01:32:17Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_can_t_believe_that_s_butter)\
**Post date:** [March 4, 2005, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-needed-in-identifying-a-poem/292839/1 "2005-03-04T01:32:17Z")

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I’ve tried Google and a couple of poetry archives, and I simply don’t know enough to search; I must rely on other’s interpretation of my anecdotes.

It’s a fairly famous poem, I think. It’s verses that start off with “Do I…” and result in a question; here’s the meter:

“Do I (BLAH-blah BLAH-blah BLAH-blah-BLAH)?” Something like that. Dare I say that this poem is of African-American legacy, as well?

Many thanks if you can help.

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**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\
**Post date:** [March 4, 2005, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-needed-in-identifying-a-poem/292839/2 "2005-03-04T01:48:40Z")

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No idea. “Do I dare to eat a peach?” is the only line that comes to mind, but that’s T.S.Eliot (The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock") and it’s only one line in a long poem.

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**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\
**Post date:** [March 4, 2005, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-needed-in-identifying-a-poem/292839/3 "2005-03-04T02:05:47Z")

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Any chance that it could be Maya Angelou’s [Still I Rise](http://www.geocities.com/still_i_rise_book_club2000/)?

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**Author:** ![sorrel554](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/91b2a8/32.png) [@sorrel554](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sorrel554)\
**Post date:** [March 4, 2005, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-needed-in-identifying-a-poem/292839/4 "2005-03-04T02:12:22Z")

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Is it [A Dream Deferred](http://www.cswnet.com/~menamc/langston.htm)?

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**Author:** ![I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_can_t_believe_that_s_butter)\
**Post date:** [March 4, 2005, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-needed-in-identifying-a-poem/292839/5 "2005-03-04T02:50:03Z")

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**Still I Rise** is it. Why I mentally passed over Ms. Angelou, I’ll never know.

Thanks a bunch, and especially for dealing with such scant information!

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**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\
**Post date:** [March 4, 2005, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-needed-in-identifying-a-poem/292839/6 "2005-03-04T02:54:12Z")

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You’re quite welcome.

I answer vague questions for a living, so this was an easy one. 😛