[W]ashing ironing cooking scrubbing sewing mending
Hoeing plowing digging planting pruning patching
Dragging along never gaining never reaping never
Knowing and never understanding.
In this stanza, the narrator describes all the tasks that were assigned to slaves during the height of slavery. The lack of punctuation (namely commas) in this stanza is remarkably powerful, as it reflects the monotonous, never-ending nature of slave chores. Just as there is no break in this list, so too was there never a break for slaves that were completing each of these tasks. Additionally, the lack of punctuation helps to show just how many tasks slaves were expected to complete. It exemplifies how slaves were worked to the bone and never given a break; after each task was completed, another was waiting. This stanza perfectly exemplifies how slaves were wholly uncompensated for their work. It also embodies the blind hope that many slaves lived with, as well; the hope that each day would offer a new hope of/opportunity for freedom.
When I was a child I knew red miners dressed
Raggedly and wearing carbide lamps.
I saw them come down red hills to their camps dyed
With red dust from old Ishkooda mines.
In this stanza, the narrator—presumably Walker, herself—recalls a very particular and visceral memory from her childhood. She describes how she used to watch miners as they walked home after a long day in the mines. She describes the miners as being “red.” Though this likely refers to the red dust that would have covered the miners after a day of aggressive mining, the red could also be a metaphorical reference to something more dangerous or hazardous. Given the historical context, the red color could also refer to enemy powers. This particular memory is very telling, as it indicates the type of world that Walker grew up. The atmosphere was clearly one of exhaustion and fatigue. As it’s clear that Walker grew up in/near a mining town, and given that mining was incredibly detrimental to the men working in the mines, it’s safe to say that the atmosphere of this town was likely filled with tension and exhaustion.
I want the cotton fields, tabacco and the cane.
I want to walk along with sacks of seed to drop in fallow ground.
Restless music is in my heart and I am eager to be gone.
In this masterfully written poem, author Margaret Walker expresses an intense longing to re-visit and re-write the history of the South. She wants to walk amongst the cotton fields and plantations and feel a sense of welcoming and home, instead of sorrow and dread. In this stanza, Walker depicts the vision she has for the South. She wants to re-write the history of slavery that is so commonly associated with the South. She wishes that the South could be a place of freedom and peace for American Americans; a place where they can walk, free of pain, sorrow, or fear. This stanza exemplifies the intense desire Walker has to re-write the history of slavery and visit the South. She wishes the South could be a place of welcome and celebration for African Americans. In short, this quotation captures Walker’s wish that she could visit the South and simply walk through cotton fields—free from feelings of sorrow, fear, grief, and anguish.
I also lived in low cotton country where moonlight hovered over ripe haystacks,
Or stumps of trees, and croppers’ rotting shacks
With famine, terror, flood, and plague near by[…]
This stanza offers a great deal of insight into Walker’s childhood. She offers two juxtaposed images of her childhood hometown. The first two lines of this stanza paint a serene, picturesque image of the narrator’s childhood. The narrator—likely Walker—describes the “low cotton country” of her childhood, which automatically conjures vintages of simple country life. The following lines support this beautifully simple life, with descriptions of the moonlight that bounces off of haystacks, shacks, and trees. It suggests a simpler time and a simpler life in the country. These descriptions would suggest that Walker’s childhood was one of beautiful and innocent simplicity. And yet, the following line alters this idea in a sudden and abrasive manner. The narrator explains that, lurking just nearby, were threats of “famine, flood, and plague.” Here, we learn that Walker’s childhood was far from simple. Rather, she was in a constant state of limbo; seemingly safe in her country life, but threatened by these ever-present and nearby dangers. This concluding line helps to contextualize this poem and Walker’s childhood. It explains that, though Walker happened to live in a relatively safe part of the country, she was positioned very near to these serious threats, all of which ultimately tarnished these memories, which should have been innocent and joy-filled.
For my people everywhere singing their slave songs
Repeatedly[…]
These opening lines begin a chronological depiction of African American history—specifically with slavery. The narrator recalls the songs of the enslaved race and accounts for the numerous complex and difficult emotions associated with such slavery. The narrator explains that enslaved African Americans used these songs for numerous emotional and mental supports. For enslaved peoples, these songs were a necessary coping mechanism, one that expressed their grief, sadness, heartache, pain, and infrequent moments of peace. In short, this opening stanza offers context for the remainder of this poem by prompting the reader to understand that this is a poem about enslaved African Americans. It captures the unified and triumphantly heartbreaking voice of all those peoples who were victims of slavery and defines this collective voice as a song—one that allowed enslaved African Americans to express themselves in a time when their personal will was forbidden.
