Langston Hughes' poems are filled with expressions and feelings that most readers can relate to. His poems are based mainly on his experiences in society. His usage of powerful images in the poem Harlem is what makes his work so effective and real. In Langston's poem Harlem he asks the reader, what happens to a dream deferred? That question would suggest that in his opinion the "American way" is merely a dream. To defer something means to postpone or put off until a later date. This is Langston's feeling toward the black man's dream of ....