# Black Woman explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Georgia Douglas Johnson.

## What happens

A black woman refuses to bring a child into a world of cruelty and sin, expressing the pain of denying life to protect the innocent from the monster men inhabiting the earth.

## Themes in this chapter

### Motherhood and Sacrifice

The speaker's painful sacrifice of denying motherhood to protect a child from the world's cruelty and sin.

### Suffering and Resilience

The speaker endures the pain of repeatedly turning away the child, showing resilience in the face of a cruel world.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown

The speaker, a black woman, who denies entry to a child to shield them from the world's cruelty.

### Life

The unborn child, addressed as 'little child' and 'little one,' representing potential life that is refused.

## Key lines

> Don’t knock at my door, little child, I cannot let you in, You know not what a world this is Of cruelty and sin.

Do not seek to enter my life, little one, for you are unaware of how cruel and sinful this world truly is.

_The speaker explains the reason for refusal: the child's innocence is incompatible with the world's harshness._

> Don’t knock at my heart, little one, I cannot bear the pain Of turning deaf-ear to your call Time and time again!

Do not appeal to my love, child, for I cannot endure the repeated agony of ignoring your pleas.

_The speaker expresses the emotional toll of repeatedly denying the child's call for life._

> Be still, be still, my precious child, I must not give you birth!

Remain calm and unborn, my dear child, for I must not bring you into existence.

_The final command to the child to stay in stillness, emphasizing the speaker's resolve to prevent birth._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_9_se/chapters/black-woman
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_9_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_9_se/chapters