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 | ABOUT THE AUTHOR |
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| Jean Toomer |
Jean Toomer was born in 1894 in Washington, D.C, the son of a Georgian
farmer. Though he passed for white during certain periods of his life, he was
raised in a predominantly... More > |
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| Reapers
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by Jean Toomer |
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Black reapers with the sound of steel on stones
Are sharpening scythes. I see them place the hones
In their hip-pockets as a thing that's done,
And start their silent swinging, one by one.
Black horses drive a mower through the weeds,
And there, a field rat, startled, squealing bleeds.
His belly close to ground. I see the blade.
Blood-stained, continue cutting weeds and shade. |
From Cane by Jean Toomer. Copyright © 1923 Boni and Liveright, renewed 1951 by Jean Toomer. Used with the permission of
Liveright Publishing Corporation. |
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