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Hughes was an important literary figure and prominently contributed to the Harlem Renaissance. His writings primarily covered the time period of the 1920s through the 1960s. Most of what he wrote offered colorful and insightful portrayals of black life in America.
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The first stanza of "Dream Variations" talks about the poet's dream of enjoying games in a sunny place, moving and dancing until the happy day ends and finding rest under a tall tree until darkness falls.
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The second stanza speaks to his reality. It talks about working despite the sun being hot quickly. Dancing, in this stanza, represents hard labor. When hight finally comes, it is painful because it remains him that he is black and, not white.
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Hence, Hughes cannot rest under a tall tree because he lives in the city. This poem is a longing, reminiscing look back at Africa and the freedom of a less complicated world.
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Ref:- Reading Between The Line.
