Summary
At the beginning of the poem, the speaker says that they will not continue to allow others to reap the fruits of their labor anymore. They elaborate on this idea, adding that they will also not stand by while their "brothers" are cheated by "lesser men." They echo this sentiment again, stating that they will not soothe these other people with music or submit to their brutish wills, as their lives were made for more than just suffering. In the final stanza, they describe how the darkness of the night sky is just as beautiful as the white stars. Following this, they note that some flowers can only bloom at night. They end the poem by stating that, in darkness, they will conceal their bleeding hearts and care for their seeds.
Analysis
"From the Dark Tower" explores the way in which the work of Black individuals is not given proper recognition or compensation. Using images from nature, Cullen is able to describe these injustices obliquely, writing about racial prejudice in a coded manner. It is a striking and evocative poem that uses the motifs of darkness and growth to express hope for a future in which Black men and women can receive the credit they deserve. The poem is a strong statement about the appropriation of the work of Black men and women.
The poem starts with a declaration. The speaker says, "We shall not always plant while others reap / The golden increment of bursting fruit." He is specifically alluding to the legacy of slavery, under which Black individuals were forced to cultivate a crop—often cotton—under horrifying and brutal conditions without any form of payment. More generally, the image of "the golden increment of bursting fruit" seems to refer to the appropriation of Black labor. This section describes other people jumping in at the last moment to enjoy something they worked hard to make. It is essentially the thesis statement of the poem. The speaker is saying this unjust practice will end. They develop this idea further in the next two lines, stating: "Not always countenance, abject and mute, / That lesser men should hold their brothers cheap." They are saying that they will not stand by quietly as these "lesser men" cheat "their brothers." The use of the word "brothers" further solidifies the impression that the speaker is depicting a conflict specific to the Black community, as this was a commonly used phrase within Cullen's literary scene. The repetition of "not always" makes these comments appear to be a kind of rallying cry. The speaker is signaling that they expect things to change.
The next four lines follow the same pattern, as the speaker makes note of other injustices. They say that they will no longer soothe these "others" to rest: "Not everlastingly while others sleep / Shall we beguile their limbs with mellow flute." This moment is basically an echo of the reaping of the fruit scene, but here they are marking a subtle contrast. Where the cultivation of that fruit was physical labor, this music is artistic work. The speaker is saying that not only will Black individuals no longer do the thankless physical labor demanded of them; they will also not entertain white people with their art. The last two lines of the stanza summarize their point of view: "Not always bend to some more subtle brute; / We were not made to eternally weep." They are definitively stating that this abuse and mistreatment will not stand, as they will not "bend" to the harshness of these people. They are asserting the value of Black lives, saying they do not exist only to "eternally weep" and suffer hardship. The use of the pronoun "we" strongly suggests that this is not an experience unique to one person, but rather something endured by the Black community as a whole.
In the second stanza, the speaker shifts to describing scenes from nature. They remark that the dark parts of the sky are no less stunning than the stars: "The night whose sable breast relieves the stark, / White stars is no less lovely being dark." In these lines, the speaker is pushing back on traditional ideas of beauty. He is saying that the night sky needs "sable" darkness to be balanced. This moment links up with earlier themes, showing how this darkness is necessary but is often overlooked, like the work of Black men and women depicted earlier. In addition, the motif of darkness and light makes it additionally clear that the speaker is commenting on racial issues. They then describe flowers that cannot survive in the light: "And there are buds that cannot bloom at all / In light, but crumple, piteous, and fall." The speaker brings up these flowers to again show how darkness is as necessary as light. Without it, all of these flowers would wilt and die. This commentary on light shows darkness does not receive the credit it deserves in nature, even as it balances ecosystems. At the conclusion of the poem, the speaker shows tentative hope: "So in the dark we hide the heart that bleeds, / And wait, and tend our agonizing seeds." The speaker is stating that they will wait in their shared darkness, concealing their pain and caring for their seeds. These lines circle back to the poem's beginning, where they said they would no longer allow others to reap the fruits they spent so long cultivating. The bleeding heart image also carried a double meaning, as the bleeding heart flower grows best in partial shade. While the words "agonizing" and "bleeds" make it clear this process will not be easy, the speaker still seems cautiously optimistic. The image of seeds suggests that while this change may not occur overnight, with time things may change. They are envisioning the beginning of a future where the Black community finally receives the recognition and respect they have long been denied.
The poem is structured as a Petrarchan sonnet. It is broken up into an octave (eight lines) that states the central problem and a sestet (six lines) that offers an answer. Here, the problem stated in the poem is clear: Black labor is not appreciated and its byproducts are often taken without repayment. The first stanza shows the speaker commenting on the injustices that expect to come to an end. The second describes the unappreciated beauty of darkness, before expressing some degree of hope for the future. Cullen uses this structure to break the poem into two moods: righteous anger and quiet optimism. This choice is also important to the poem's themes as it allows Cullen to show the injustices Black Americans have faced before he imagines potential change. it serves the poem well by giving it a built-in turning point.
