A Grain of Sand
The poem begins with the narrator addressing the reader, asking him or her if they see the grain of sand in her hand. The image of the grain of sand brought fourth ‘’loving thoughts’’ for the narrator because it made her realize the value of her own life. In the same stanza, the narrator looks at the sky and marvels at the infinite number of stars. While looking at them, the narrator reaches the conclusion that the human life has no value in comparison with the immenseness of the universe.
The second stanza continues with this idea, the narrator wondering whether God cares about humans since they are unimportant. The grain of sand suddenly speaks and claims that just as the stars have their place, a single grain of sand was created with a purpose as well.
In the third stanza the grain of sand speaks once more, claiming it will never be destroyed not even if the entire world is flooded and destroyed. This example is used to show the narrator that if a single grain of sand is important, then a human being is immensely more important in the eyes of the Creator.
The fourth and last stanza of the poem acts as a conclusion, with the narrator concluding that this knowledge helps her go though in life even when times are though. The knowledge that God loves her helps her continue fighting the problems she encounters and helps her remain hopeful.
The poem begins with the narrator imagining the country as being a woman, lifting her hands towards the sky and crying for help. The fact that her hands are bleeding signals the violence she was subjected to.
In the second stanza God intervenes, breaking Ethiopia’s chains around her neck and also around her soul. The chains around the neck may symbolize here actual slavery while the ones around the soul may stand for the religious practices considered as being wrong by the Christian world.
In the third stanza the narrator talks about the Ethiopia’s children, rising their heads and looking towards the sky. They shout once more, but this time out of joy, and the surrounding hills are transformed as well, becoming green and fresh. The people of the country are happy and the children start playing outside, without being afraid of the future.
The reason why the narrator may have chosen to write about Ethiopia and slavery is because in the country of Ethiopia, slavery was still practiced in the 20th century. Thus, the country continued to bleed while the rest of the world healed from the wounds left by slavery. The country was ‘’saved’’ by God when Italians invaded the country and abolished slavery once and for all in the 1940s.
Mother’s Treasures
In this poem, the narrator talks about her two children: a boy and a girl, calling them her most beloved and precious treasure. The two children are presented as being pure, able to enjoy their childhood, laughing and playing and the mother expresses her desire to protect her children’s innocence.
The narrator then talks about how she would like her children to grow up. For her son, the narrator wishes for him to be financially stable and maybe be known. She also would like for him to be involved in politics and become a ‘’pillar of strength to the state’’. The girl, on the other hand, should have a good heart and a good reputation while also striving to help the poor and those who are in need.
The way the narrator invasions the lives of her children is important because it tells a lot about the roles a woman and a man were supposed to have. While a man was expected to be financially secure and know and be involved in politics, a girl should be obedient, a good wife and be kind.
Bible Defense of Slavery
The poem begins with the description of the slaves, sitting on the ground, dressed in black and rags, mourning. For the slaves, the holy words bring fear and terror in their eyes, knowing what will happen.
The narrator mentioned the ‘’reverend’’ man, probably some type of religious leader who was supposed to protect the people. Instead of doing just that and bringing light, he uses the word of the Bible to enslave the black people and to argue his actions. The narrator shows how those men prayed for heathen lands but how, when they arrived at the border of those lands, they became heathen as well.
Despite all this, the narrator urges the readers not to blame God for what happened, knowing that the problem was not religion, but rather the way in which religion was used by ill-intended people who wanted to profit.
The Slave Auction
The poem aims to present the act of selling slaves, the focus falling on the children and the parents being separated from the rest of their families. In the first stanza the focus falls on the young, the first ones to be sold off. The mothers can’t do nothing more than watch as their children are sold to the highest bidder.
Wives and husbands were separated as well and among the ones who were gathered to be sold were old men and young and sickly children.
In order to make the reader understand the pain felt by those who saw they loved ones being sold, compared the event with the act of burring someone after they died. In the narrator’s opinion, that feeling came close to what those people felt in those moments.
Learning to Read
The first stanza described the first teachers, the Yankees who set up schools for the slaves even though the masters did not agree with them. The narrator admits that the masters tried to keep the slaves uneducated, knowing that if the slaves were to become more knowledgeable, they would want to be set free.
Despite the masters’ efforts, some black slaves did learn how to read, stealing books or simply by hearing how the children of the masters’ were being taught. When the teachers came, more and more people started to learn how to read and the first book many read was the Bible.
The last three stanzas of the poem highlight how it is never too late to learn. Chloe, the narrator of this poem, learned to read at the age of sixty and even though many laughed at her, seeing her practice her reading, she did not give up and continued trying to better herself.
