Dirt

The “sword / at our backs” (Lines 21-22) is a metaphor for persecution and forceful removal in all eras, from those who were taken directly from Africa to the later generations of free African Americans kept from land through violence and intimidation. The “sword” is a metaphor for all the violent oppression faced by Black people throughout the generations. The word also has a biblical connotation; many Bible stories involve persecution through the use of an aggressor with swords.

The poem uses the word “bones” twice. First, the speaker says they will sell their bones to buy land and then that they will bury their bones in “our dirt.” Bones are the most essential structure in the human body, allowing it to stand, take shape, and work. They signify a person’s physical self, something they can control and “own” even if others do not recognize them as being legally free to own anything. They also last longer than any other body part, making them markers for immortality. Even after a person dies and rots, their bones persist, making them an object that connects one generation to the next. Saying that they will sell their bones signifies that the speakers will sell their time on this world and the lives of those that come after them.