Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Kef 24" by Henry Dumas is a potent and rhythmically intense poem that powerfully evokes the labor, suffering, and spiritual invocation of African American workers in the context of cotton fields. The repetition of laborious tasks, the invocation of divine mercy, and the reference to the oppressive "pink boss" together paint a vivid portrait of the historical and physical realities of black laborers under a system that dehumanizes and exploits them.

The poem begins with the directive to "lay sixteen bales down in front on the plank," immediately situating the reader in the midst of physical labor—specifically, the labor of handling cotton bales. This is a physically demanding task, and the specificity of "sixteen bales" underscores the enormity and repetitiveness of the work.

The phrase "let me set and bay at the houndog moon" introduces a lyrical, almost mystical element to the poem. The image of baying at the moon suggests a deep, primal outcry—a mixture of pain, exhaustion, and perhaps a call for relief or escape. The "houndog moon" symbolizes a witness to the laborer's plight, an omnipresent observer in the night sky.

The repeated plea, "pray with me brothers that the pink boss dont sweat me too soon," brings in the communal aspect of the laborers' experience, suggesting solidarity among the workers. The "pink boss" likely refers to a white overseer or employer, whose presence is a source of pressure and anxiety. The workers' prayer is for endurance, for the strength to continue without falling under his scrutiny or wrath too early.

Dumas uses visceral and violent imagery, such as "beat my leg in a round nigger peg" and "beat a nigger down and bury his soul," to convey the brutality of the physical and spiritual degradation experienced by the workers. These lines evoke the harshness of the physical labor and the dehumanizing abuse that black bodies endured, reduced here to mere "pegs" in the machinery of agricultural production.

The repetition of the plea for divine mercy, "lord have mercy on my black pole," "lord have mercy on my shrinkin back," and similar lines throughout, serves as a refrain that punctuates the poem with calls for spiritual relief and strength. The figure of the "jesus mule," which appears repeatedly, symbolizes a source of salvation or deliverance—a spiritual "vehicle" that might carry the speaker away from his suffering.

As the poem progresses, the rhythm and structure break down into shorter phrases and single words, mimicking the breaking down of the speaker under the strain of labor and oppression: "pray brothers / beat down / lord have / let me / lord lord / brothers." This disintegration of form reflects the physical and emotional fragmentation of the laborer's experience.

The concluding lines, culminating in "howl jesus, / howl!" transform the earlier baying at the moon into a direct appeal to Jesus, urging a divine howl of acknowledgment, grief, or rage at the injustices being witnessed. This final invocation elevates the collective suffering to a cosmic level, seeking a response from the divine to the earthly pains endured by the workers.

Overall, "Kef 24" by Henry Dumas is a deeply moving, rhythmically compelling piece that explores themes of labor, oppression, brotherhood, and spiritual seeking. It powerfully encapsulates the physical and emotional toll of systemic racism and labor exploitation, while also capturing the workers' resilience and their communal and spiritual strategies for coping with their harsh realities.

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