November Cotton Flower by Jean Toomer
“Boll-weevil's coming, and the winter's cold,
Made cotton-stalks look rusty, seasons old,
And cotton, scarce as any southern snow,
Was vanishing; the branch, so pinched and slow,
Failed in its function as the autumn rake;
Drouth fighting soil had caused the soil to take
All water from the streams; dead birds were found
In wells a hundred feet below the ground--
Such was the season when the flower bloomed.
Old folks were startled, and it soon assumed
Significance. Superstition saw
Something it had never seen before:
Brown eyes that loved without a trace of fear,
And cotton, scarce as any southern snow,
Was vanishing; the branch, so pinched and slow,
Failed in its function as the autumn rake;
Drouth fighting soil had caused the soil to take
All water from the streams; dead birds were found
In wells a hundred feet below the ground--
Such was the season when the flower bloomed.
Old folks were startled, and it soon assumed
Significance. Superstition saw
Something it had never seen before:
Brown eyes that loved without a trace of fear,
Beauty so sudden for that time of year.”
| “I was married and had three children before I was stolen from my husband.… It seemed like we were in that boat forever, but we came to land, and I was put on the block and sold. I found out afterward from my white folks it was in New Orleans. We were all chained, and they stripped all our clothes off, and the folks who were going to buy us came around and felt us all over. If any … didn’t want to take their clothes off, the man got a long, black whip and cut them up hard. I was sold to a planter who had a big plantation in Fayette County, right here in Texas. I was scared and couldn’t say anything, ‘cause I couldn’t speak English. They chained us together and marched us up near La Grange in Texas. Marse Jones had gone ahead, and the overseer marched us. That was an awful time, because we were all chained up, and what one did all had to do; when one got tired or sick the rest had to drag and carry him … Marse Jones and old miss found out about my cooking and took me into the house to cook for them … but I was a powerful big woman when I was young, and when they got in a tight place, I helped out in the fields.”
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2 comments:
Yes, she is beautiful and the situation brings tears to my eyes.
I found you through Dear Cate.
Will return
Your images are beautiful!
And here we are as women walking on the shoulders and lives of our Grandmothers, no matter the race, as we all belong to the human race...thank goodness for their teachings being passed on to us, in whatever manner. Such beauty resides within this sharing and I thank you so very much!
Peace and Blessings Abundant!
All Praise for the Grandmothers of All Time!
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