15+ Significant Poems about Slavery

(15 to start, 40+ to explore)

Poems about slavery confront the dark chapters of history, shedding light on the inhumane and unjust treatment endured by enslaved individuals.

These poems often express outrage at the oppression, violence, and dehumanization suffered by slaves. Poets may explore the resilience and strength enslaved communities exhibit in the face of unimaginable hardships.

The verses may also touch on themes of freedom, equality, and the legacy of slavery, urging readers to confront the past and advocate for a more just and compassionate society.

For a curated list, see our top picks of the best poems about slavery.

Poems about Slavery Visual Representation

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The Memory

by Maya Angelou

‘The Memory’ by Maya Angelou explores images of slavery, pain, and spiritual desire for something more in two short stanzas.

Slavery is one of the most prominent topics in this poem. While the poet doesn't use the word specifically, it's clear through her use of allusion that she's thinking about the lives of enslaved people across the American South and their dreams of a better life.

Cotton rows crisscross the world

And dead-tired nights of yearning

Thunderbolts on leather strops

And all my body burning

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Conductor

by Marilyn Nelson

‘Conductor’ by Marilyn Nelson offers the rousing introspections of a conductor on The Underground Railroad who asserts the necessity of replacing self-preservation with an instinctual selflessness.

Nelson confronts the realities of slavery and the means by which people attempted to free themselves in this poem. In focusing on the conductors, the poem reveals that such liberty was often only attainable with the help of others. Which in turn places the responsibility upon the privileged to uplift those who are oppressed.

When did my knees learn how to forecast rain,

and my hairbrush start yielding silver curls?

Of late, a short walk makes me short of breath,

and every day begins and ends with pain.

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The Present Crisis

by James Russell Lowell

‘The Present Crisis’ by James Russell Lowell is an anthem against slavery and, by extension, other racially-induced crimes. Penned in 1845 as a protest against the permission of slavery in Texas, this long poem now serves as a voice for all people of color who continue to face discrimination today.

Slavery is the central topic of the poem. Everything else, including the poet's abolitionist movement, revolves around it. Lowell wrote this poem as an anthem against slavery, and it is still used as this today. The topic could not be any more relevant.

Slavery, the earth-born Cyclops, fellest of the giant brood,

Sons of brutish Force and Darkness, who have drenched the earth with blood,

Famished in his self-made desert, blinded by our purer day,

Gropes in yet unblasted regions for his miserable prey;—

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One More Round

by Maya Angelou

‘One More Round’ features a never-ending cycle of hard work, which draws on African American history throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.

Slavery is a major focus of the poem, appearing in both the speaker’s personal stance and in the memories of their ancestors’ suffering. It recalls a time when African Americans were treated as property and forced into exhausting labor without freedom or reward. The speaker’s declaration of not being born to be a slave reinforces the importance of autonomy. The poem uses slavery as both a historical reality and a warning against any form of forced exploitation. Within the poem, the horrific effect of slavery on a person is highlighted, as the speaker reflects upon the broken "minds" of their brothers and sisters, caused by their enslavement.

There ain't no pay beneath the sun

As sweet as rest when a job's well done.

I was born to work up to my grave

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The Little Black Boy

by William Blake

‘The Little Black Boy’ by William Blake is a difficult poem. It delves into topics of race, racism, and slavery from the perspective of an 18th-century poet.

Though not overtly about slavery, ‘The Little Black Boy’ reflects the themes of bondage and inequality inherent in the system of slavery. The child’s blackness symbolizes his social subjugation, and his yearning for equality mirrors the desire for freedom and dignity. His eventual hope for spiritual liberation aligns with abolitionist ideas of universal human worth.

My mother bore me in the southern wild,

And I am black, but O! my soul is white;

White as an angel is the English child:

But I am black as if bereav'd of light.

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Slavery

by Hannah More

‘Slavery’ by Hannah More is a pro-abolitionist poem. It attempts to inspire Britain at the peak of slave trade to condemn the very act. The poem makes a case for the abolition of slavery by exposing Britain’s immorality and appealing to the public’s humanity.

From the title, one can already tell that the poem is about slavery. If not, the first few lines make clear the speaker's intention to advocate for the abolition of slavery. Hannah More's 'Slavery' remains one of the best and most popular poems written about slavery, given the topic itself and the time period in which it was written. This was at the height of the slave trade, yet More took a bold stance to oppose the act.

Let Malice strip them of each other plea,

They still are men, and men should still be free.

Insulted Reason loathes the inverted trade —

Loathes, as she views the human purchase made;

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The Great Personal Privation

by Tracy K. Smith

‘The Great Personal Privation’ is a poem that looks at the issue of slave-owning in America in the nineteenth century.

This is not only a very good poem about slavery, but it is also a very important poem about slavery. The poet uses a unique idea - taking the words from letters written by slave owners, and rearranging them as a way to tell the slaves' stories. This allows the reader to see two meanings in the words - they can see through the way that the words are arranged in the poem (showing the way that the slaves mean) and find the original meaning.

It is a painful and harassing business

Belonging to her. We have had trouble enough,

Have no comfort or confidence in them,

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The Runaway Slave At Pilgrim’s Point

by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

In the shadow of Pilgrim’s Point, a runaway slave confronts oppression, but shows resilience and defiance amidst despair and hope.

This poem confronts the horrors of slavery through the protagonist's harrowing experiences. Browning vividly portrays the brutality and dehumanization endured by slaves, highlighting the injustice and cruelty of the institution. Through powerful imagery and poignant language, the poem sheds light on the oppressive system of slavery, urging readers to confront and challenge its injustices. The poem was written with the intention of persuading others to join the abolitionist cause, as it appeared in an American anti-slavery publication called 'The Liberty Bell'.

I stand on the mark beside the shore

Of the first white pilgrim's bended knee,

Where exile turned to ancestor,

And God was thanked for liberty.

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An Hour With Thee

by Sir Walter Scott

‘An Hour With Thee’ by Sir Walter Scott is a poem about the speaker’s appreciation for spending time with an unnamed character. Despite his difficult life, an hour with this person can make his situation tolerable.

'An Hour With Thee' by Sir Walter Scott contains undertones of enslavement, as the speaker describes his daily toils and his master's scorn. These clues indicate that the speaker is an enslaved person who has nothing to look forward to in his life other than companionship and love.

An hour with thee! When earliest day

Dapples with gold the eastern gray,

Oh, what can frame my mind to bear

The toil and turmoil, cark and care,

#10

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The Slave Auction

by Frances Harper

Have you ever imagined what it felt like observing innocent lives being traded at the slave auction? It is vividly portrayed through the eyes of Frances Harper in her poem ‘The Slave Auction’.

The poem focuses deeply on the horrors of slavery, depicting the painful experience of being treated as property at an auction. Harper illustrates the anguish felt by Black families as they are separated without mercy. This treatment reduces their lives to transactions, ignoring their humanity entirely. Slavery in this poem is not just about ownership but about the destruction of family and dignity, leaving lasting scars.

The sale began—young girls were there,

Defenseless in their wretchedness,

Whose stifled sobs of deep despair

Revealed their anguish and distress.

#11

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Worth

by Marilyn Nelson

‘Worth’ by Marilyn Nelson wrestles for an answer regarding both who and by what means do we prescribe value to other people and ourselves.

Nelson's poem begins with a jarring image of slavery and its dehumanizing nature. But the speaker of the poem also issues a number of questions that serve to spotlight the hypocrisy of such a value system. Slaves were sold for amounts that they themselves would never obtain nor were comparable to how they were actually treated.

Today in America people were bought and sold:

five hundred for a "likely Negro wench."

If someone at auction is worth her weight in gold,

how much would she be worth by pound? By ounce?

#12

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Aunt Sue’s Stories

by Langston Hughes

‘Aunt Sue’s Stories’ is about a young Black boy listening to his Aunt Sue’s stories of the hard lives of enslaved Black people, teaching him about his history and identity.

The stories often talk about the time of slavery. They show the harsh realities of life as a slave. This part of history is important to remember. It shows the struggles and strength of Black people. Knowing about slavery helps the child understand his family's past.

Aunt Sue has a head full of stories.

Aunt Sue has a whole heart full of stories.

Summer nights on the front porch

Aunt Sue cuddles a brown-faced child to her bosom

#13

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To the Right Honorable William, Earl of Dartmouth

by Phillis Wheatley

‘To the Right Honorable William, Earl of Dartmouth’ is a eulogy written by the African-American poet Phillis Wheatley. This poem glorifies the humanitarian Earl for his contribution to the abolitionist cause.

This poem speaks about the brutal reality of slavery and how it strips people of their freedom and dignity. Wheatley shares her own painful experience of being taken from Africa and sold into slavery. She wants people to understand the suffering that comes with being enslaved. Her words are not just personal but also a powerful message about the cruelty that so many African Americans faced.

Hail, happy day, when, smiling like the morn,

Fair Freedom rose New-England to adorn:

The northern clime beneath her genial ray,

Dartmouth, congratulates thy blissful sway:

#14

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A New National Anthem

by Ada Limón

‘A New National Anthem’ is a prose poem expressing disapproval of the National Anthem, especially the part that was conspicuously removed.

The third verse was unacceptable because it made it clear that the people who wrote it were happy that the former American slaves who fought alongside the British against the Americans lost their lives. They were seen as less because they were black and former slaves. This is one of the major topics addressed by the poem.

The truth is, I’ve never cared for the National

Anthem. If you think about it, it’s not a good song.

#15

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The Right Season

by Jackie Kay

‘The Right Season’ by Jackie Kay reveals how enslaved people found resilience and unity through music amidst enduring hardship.

Slavery is central to the poem, where Jackie Kay recalls the lives of enslaved people working tirelessly in fields, trapped in a cycle they can’t escape. This topic explores their harsh realities, the struggle to find freedom, and how these people held onto their humanity and strength by finding moments of relief in music and song.

They followed the tobacco crops in the spring,

the cotton crops in the fall, all along the flat plains.

It had to be the right time, the right town,

where for the blues, people had enough money to spend.

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15+ Significant Poems about Slavery

(15 to start, 40+ to explore)

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15+ Significant Poems about Slavery

(15 to start, 40+ to explore)

by Maya Angelou

by Marilyn Nelson

by James Russell Lowell

by Maya Angelou

by William Blake

by Hannah More

by Tracy K. Smith

by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

by Sir Walter Scott

by Frances Harper

by Marilyn Nelson

by Langston Hughes

by Phillis Wheatley

by Ada Limón

by Jackie Kay

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