Poetry Response #13: at the cemetery, walnut grove plantation, south carolina,1989 By: Lucille Clifton

at the cemetery, walnut grove plantation, south carolina, 1989

By: Lucille Clifton

among the rocks

at walnut grove

your silence drumming 

in my bones,

tell me your names.

nobody mentioned slaves

and yet the curious tools

shine with your fingerprints.

nobody mentioned slaves 

but somebody did this work

who had no guide, no stone,

who molders under rock.

tell me your names,

tell me your bashful names

and i will testify

the inventory lists ten slaves

but only men were recognized.

among the rocks

at walnut grove

some of these honored dead 

were dark

some of these dark

were slaves

were women

some of them did this

honored work.

tell me your names

foremothers, brothers,

tell me your dishonored names.

here lies

here lies

here lies

here lies

hear

     This poem by Lucille Clifton is very powerful especially in the way she chooses to end it with very short, straight to the point lines. Ms. Clifton is an African American who wrote this poem after a tour she took of the walnut grove plantation in South Carolina. This tour she took never mentioned slaves or anything along those matters so she was curious in asking more questions about the plantation. She wants the slaves to be remembered because although all this happened in the past it still happened and we can't just ignore what happened and try and cover it up by leaving all mention behind. The first two stanzas are her curiosity, why does no one mention the slaves because someone did the work here. She speaks of the silence under the rocks in where these men and possibly woman now sleep their eternal death under the earth. The third stanza is that she wants to know their names so that she can tell others what they did and what happened to them, so that they past my still be known regardless of the tragedy. She did her research and found that ten male slaves were accounted for but women were not included. The last stretch of the poem wraps it all together in such powerful words even though such little was said. under the rocks were black slaves, including women unaccounted for in the inventory. They did honorable work but their names were dishonored as they were not recognized in their passing. The last five lines make a huge statement to list those who lie there as "here lies" and ending it with "hear," as in listen. Listen and see the people who worked here and suffered. Open your ears and honor those who should be honored. Because they are people just like us and there they lie now unknown, unnamed... ♥