Answer and Explanation:
The speaker in Langston Hughes's "Harlem: A Dream Deferred" asks what happens when we do not accomplish our dreams. Notice that most of the comparisons he makes are negative, which is illustrated by his word choice - "fester", "explode", "dry up", "rotten".
What the poem is trying to tell us about life is that we should not allow our dreams to be deferred, postponed. Nothing good comes from neglecting our dreams. We should go for it, try our best. It is not only important to have dreams, but also to hold fast to them. Even though we must encounter hardships as we work for them to happen, we should not lose faith.