Ghost of a flea: Sorrow Songs

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February 18, 2005

Sorrow Songs

"I walk through the churchyard
To lay this body down;
I know moon-rise, I know star-rise;
I walk in the moonlight, I walk in the starlight,
I'll lie in the grave and stretch out my arms,
I'll go to judgment in the evening of the day,
And my soul and thy soul shall meet that day,
When I lay this body down."

W.E.B. Du Bois cites a "sorrow song" of those weary at heart who walked in darkness in olden days. I came across Du Bois in the work of British sociologist, Stuart Hall and in him found a cultural history that somehow evokes the Mythos. The Souls of Black Folk provides a thoughtful alternative to simple stories of blood and soil while preserving the truth, dignity and inspiration one can find in a shared history. Du Bois is often talked about as an African-American sociologist. This is true. But it is a more important truth that he is an American poet and historian telling stories of American history.

I sit with Shakespeare, and he winces not. Across the color line I move arm and arm with Balzac and Dumas, where smiling men and welcoming women glide in gilded halls. From out of the caves of evening that swing between the strong-limbed Earth and the tracery of stars, I summon Aristotle and Aurelius and what soul I will, and they come all graciously with no scorn nor condescension. So, wed with Truth, I dwell above the veil.

Posted by Ghost of a flea at February 18, 2005 08:15 AM

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