To a Husband
To a Husband - meaning Summary
Continent as Intimate Portrait
The speaker addresses a husband whose speech and gestures carry force and historical weight. His voice is a clenched fist; his hand navigates ancient landscapes. She casts him as Africa itself—vivid, powerful, and ripe with labor and possibility—while she watches from home. The poem fuses intimate observation with continental metaphor, presenting the husband as both a personal presence and a symbol of Black strength and heritage.
Read Complete AnalysesYour voice at times a fist Tight in your throat Jabs ceaselessly at phantoms In the room, Your hand a carved and Skimming boat Goes down the Nile To point out Pharaoh's tomb. You're Africa to me At brightest dawn. The Congo's green and Copper's brackish hue, A continent to build With Black Man's brawn. I sit at home and see it all Through you.
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