“mother dear, may i go downtown
instead of out to play,
and march the streets of birmingham
in a freedom march today? ”
“no, baby, no, you may not go,
for the dogs are fierce and wild,
and clubs and hoses, guns and jails
aren’t good for a little child.”
“but, mother, i won’t be alone.
other children will go with me,
and march the streets of birmingham
to make our country free.”
“no, baby, no, you may not go,
for i fear those guns will fire.
but you may go to church instead
and sing in the children’s choir.”
she has combed and brushed her night-dark hair,
and bathed rose petal sweet,
and drawn white gloves on her small brown hands,
and white shoes on her feet.
the mother smiled to know her child
was in the sacred place,
but that smile was the last smile
to come upon her face.
for when she heard the explosion,
her eyes grew wet and wild.
she raced through the streets of birmingham
calling for her child.
she clawed through bits of glass and brick,
then lifted out a shoe.
“o, here’s the shoe my baby wore,
but, baby, where are you? ”
analyze the way in which randall uses sensory imagery to stir the reader’s emotions and create meaning. use evidence from the poem to defend your analysis.
(answer) - randall uses sensory imagery to paint the picture of how the mother feels about the freedom march. she sees police dogs, clubs, hoses, guns, and prison. the violence and fear is clear in these examples, and she sends her child to sing at church instead. this is where the sensory imagery really takes off and stirs the reader’s emotions. randall dedicates an entire stanza to the little girl getting ready to go to church. she smells “rose petal sweet,” as she puts on white gloves and white shoes. these gloves and shoes emphasize the innocence of the little girl and the place that she thinks she’s going because one doesn’t expect to get dirty or mussed up singing in a choir. the irony is heartbreaking. the next bit of sensory imagery is equally devastating; the mother claws “through bits of glass and brick” to find her daughter, but she only finds a shoe. the physical pain that is evoked is nothing compared to the emotional pain of finding that one white shoe.