Page:Negro poets and their poems (IA negropoetstheirp00kerl).pdf/257

Rh They tore his flesh and broke his bones, And laughed in triumph at his groans; They chopped his fingers, clipped his ears And passed them round as souvenirs. They bored hot irons in his side And reveled in their zeal and pride; They cut his quivering flesh away And danced and sang as Christians may; Then from his side they tore his heart And watched its quivering fibres dart. And then upon his mangled frame They piled the wood, the oil and flame. Lest there be left one of his creed, One to perpetuate his breed; Lest there be one to bear his name Or build the stock from which he came, They dragged his bride up to the pyre And plunged her headlong in the fire, Full-freighted with an unborn child, Hot embers on her form they piled. And they raised a Sabbath song, The echo sounded wild and strong, A benediction to the skies That crowned the human sacrifice.

Few are the poets quoted or mentioned in this volume who have not contributed to this literature of protest. James Weldon Johnson, whose predominant motive is artistic creation, affords more than one poem in which the note of protest is sounded in pathos. Pathos is indeed the characteristic note of the great body of Negro verse. Aided by the two preceding extracts to an