Langston Hughes sounded an authentic Afro prophetic note in his lines, "I have known rivers / My soul is ancient and deep like the rivers." Dumas's perception of the depth of Afro spiritual aspiration makes the reverence of that vision not only a memory but a condition of being, takes you into those rivers with a sense of going somewhere:

    Sons, my sons, dip into this river with your ebony cups  A vessel of knowledge sails under power.  Study stars as well as currents. Dip into this river with your ebony cups.