1Boll-weevil’s coming, and the winter’s cold,
2Made cotton-stalks look rusty, seasons old,
3And cotton, scarce as any southern snow,
4Was vanishing; the branch, so pinched and slow,
5Failed in its function as the autumn rake;
6Drouth fighting soil had caused the soil to take
7All water from the streams; dead birds were found
8In wells a hundred feet below the ground—
9Such was the season when the flower bloomed.
10Old folks were startled, and it soon assumed
11Significance. Superstition saw
12Something it had never seen before:
13Brown eyes that loved without a trace of fear,
14Beauty so sudden for that time of year.
1Boll-weevil’s coming, and the winter’s cold,
2Made cotton-stalks look rusty, seasons old,
3And cotton, scarce as any southern snow,
4Was vanishing; the branch, so pinched and slow,
5Failed in its function as the autumn rake;
6Drouth fighting soil had caused the soil to take
7All water from the streams; dead birds were found
8In wells a hundred feet below the ground—
9Such was the season when the flower bloomed.
10Old folks were startled, and it soon assumed
11Significance. Superstition saw
12Something it had never seen before:
13Brown eyes that loved without a trace of fear,
14Beauty so sudden for that time of year.
Boll-weevil’s coming, and the winter’s cold,
Made cotton-stalks look rusty, seasons old,
And cotton, scarce as any southern snow,
Was vanishing;
the branch, so pinched and slow,
Failed in its function as the autumn rake;
Drouth fighting soil had caused the soil to take
All water from the streams; dead birds were found
In wells a hundred feet below the ground—
Such was the season when the flower bloomed.
Old folks were startled, and it soon assumed
Significance.
Superstition saw
Something it had never seen before:
Brown eyes that loved without a trace of fear,
Beauty so sudden for that time of year.
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
A Harlem Renaissance Introduction — Learn more about the cultural movement with which Toomer was often linked—despite his protests.
The Great Migration — Learn more about the mass movement of Black Americans out of the Deep South in the mid-20th century.
Toomer's Biography — An in-depth article about Toomer's life.
Toomer and Race — An article exploring Toomer's attitude towards racial division.
America, Cotton, and Racism — A podcast exploring the role of cotton production in the American economy and its relationship with slavery and oppression.