Wade in the Water

Water runs through the poem, from the title to the final image of God “troubling” the water. “Wade in the Water” is an allusion to the African American spiritual, a song that itself is an allusion to Moses freeing the Israelites from the pharaoh by crossing the Red Sea. Wading in the water was a sign of faith in God because the Israelites put their faith in God as they passed through the Nile River to escape the Egyptians. Similarly, the spiritual could be read as a song about faith in God. But the song had a practical subtext as well. By stepping into the water, the enslaved who were trying to escape from their enslavers could elude the dogs who could no longer trail their scent once they were in the water. The “blood-deep” (Line 22) song shows the pain and death inflicted on the enslaved and their deep desire to escape despite the danger. The song allows the speaker and reader to enter the water as well, understanding some of the pain as they clap hands and stomp feet with the Gullah Geechee.