Once Randall introduces the poem in the first four stanzas by establishing characters and the setting, there is a shift in the fifth stanza from the characters speaking to a narrator. ... The fact that the young girl is a child is reiterated again when the word "small" is used to describe her. ... The color white is contrasted sharply with her "night-dark hair" and her "brown hands" In the poem, these direct references to the color of her hair and skin are present even though she is an innocent child. ...

• Word Count: 1170
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School