Text of the Poem 

I am the Smoke King
I am black!
I am swinging in the sky,
I am wringing worlds awry;
I am the thought of the throbbing mills,                           5
I am the soul of the soul-toil kills,
Wraith of the ripple of trading rills;
Up I’m curling from the sod,
I am whirling home to God;

I am the Smoke King                                                   10
I am black.
I am the Smoke King
I am black!
I am wreathing broken hearts,
I am sheathing love’s light darts;                                  15
Inspiration of iron times
Wedding the toil of toiling climes,
Shedding the blood of bloodless crimes
Lurid lowering ’mid the blue,
Torrid towering toward the true,                                    20

I am the Smoke King
I am black.
I am the Smoke King
I am black!
I am darkening with song,                                            25
I am hearkening to wrong!
I will be black as blackness can—
The blacker the mantle, the mightier the man!
For blackness was ancient ere whiteness began.
I am daubing God in night,                                           30
I am swabbing Hell in white:
I am the Smoke King
I am black.

I am the Smoke King
I am black!                                                                35
I am cursing ruddy morn,
I am hearsing hearts unborn:
Souls unto me are as stars in a night,
I whiten my black men—I blacken my white!
What’s the hue of a hide to a man in his might?               40
Hail! great, gritty, grimy hands—
Sweet Christ, pity toiling lands!
I am the Smoke King
I am black.

Footnotes

  1. The speaker likens souls to stars, emphasizing their significance. The act of whitening black men and blackening white men may symbolize a leveling or equalizing force.

    — Allegra Keys, Owl Eyes Editor

  2. The speaker describes the act of coloring God in night and Hell in white, playing with traditional associations of colors with good and evil. This challenges conventional notions of morality.

    — Allegra Keys, Owl Eyes Editor

  3. The Smoke King darkens with song, possibly indicating a transformative power in music. The act of hearkening to wrong suggests an awareness of societal issues.

    — Allegra Keys, Owl Eyes Editor

  4. The smoke symbolizes a complex range of meanings, including industrialization and societal issues. It also challenges traditional associations with colors and morality.

    — Allegra Keys, Owl Eyes Editor

  5. The smoke is metaphorically described as the "thought of the throbbing mills" and the "soul of the soul-toil kills," suggesting a symbolic connection between industrial processes and human experiences of the Black Americans who migrated to the north after the Civil War.

    — Allegra Keys, Owl Eyes Editor

  6. The repetition of the phrase "I am the Smoke King, I am black" serves as a refrain, reinforcing the speaker's identity and pride.

    — Allegra Keys, Owl Eyes Editor