October Poet – Arna Bontemps

‘God Give to Men’

Oct 3, 2008 Linda Sue Grimes

Arna Bontemps was born October 13, 1902, in Alexandria, Louisiana. In his poem, "God Give to Men," his speaker affirms three races, Mongoloid, Caucasoid, and Negroid.

Arna Bontemps’ “God Give to Men” is a prayer, in which the speaker asks God for certain gifts for each of the three races. The poem/prayer consists of four unrimed stanzas. By today’s standards, the poem might seem racist. But it acknowledges the three races accurately and does not confuse the idea of race with nationality and religion, which is so common today.

First Stanza: “God give the yellow man”

In the first stanza, the speaker asks God to grant the Mongoloid race “an easy breeze at blossom time.” He also asks for “the yellow man” who has “eager, slanting eyes” the ability to “cover / every land and dream / of afterwhile.”

The speaker has been influenced by stereotypes of Japanese and Chinese fine paintings that depict delicate “blossoms.” The mere mention of “slanting eyes” is enough to draw indignation to many political correctness adherents in the early 21st century.

The speaker asks for the “yellow man” a rather neutral prize, that he has a fine harvest and the ability to see beyond this earthly existence. The neutrality of the latter bequest arises from the stereotype of the Asian as a believer in reincarnation. It may be viewed as magnanimous of the speaker to make such a request for a man of a different race from his own.

Second Stanza: “Give blue-eyed men their swivel chairs”For the Caucasian race, the speaker asks that God give him “swivel chairs / to whirl in tall buildings. / Allow them many ships at sea, / and on land, soldiers / and policemen.” Such a bequest is also indicative of a stereotype of the Caucasian as materialist and authoritarian.

Interestingly, the speaker has chosen eye color to designate the Caucasoid, while he uses eye shape to designate the Mongoloid. A strict accounting of eye color and eye shape would reveal that all races have these traits, but the reader will have to suspend certain aspects of science for a clear reading of this poem.

Third Stanza: “For black man, God”

The speaker then asks God’s gift to the Negroid be nothing special—just let him laugh plenty and cry as needed. The speaker’s own race dictates that he suffer the other races to precede his own. His wishes for his own race remain as humble as his wish for the Mongoloid and Caucasoid remain stereotypes.

Fourth Stanza: “God suffer little men”

The fourth stanza consists of only two lines: “God suffer little men / the taste of soul's desire.” The speaker asks God to grant all men some measure of desire fulfillment; however, it is noteworthy that he wishes that God will grant them “soul’s desire.” Despite any lingering doubt about and resent toward other races, he has the perspicacity to realize that only well-wishing for others can raise his own status.

Another October poet article: "October Poet: Sylvia Plath" Editor's Choice Award

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Arna Bontemps