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read the poem.
a black man talks of reaping
by arna bontemps
i have sown beside all waters in my day
i planted deep, within my heart the fear
that wind or fowl would take the grain away
i planted safe against this stark, lean year.
i scattered seed enough to plant the land
in rows from canada to mexico
but for my reaping only what the hand
can hold at once is all that i can show.
yet what i sowed and what the orchard yields
my brother’s sons are gathering stalk and root;
small wonder then my children glean in fields
they have not sown, and feed on bitter fruit.
what does the line \my children glean in fields they have
not sown, and feed on bitter fruit\ from \a black man talks
of reaping\ suggest?
no matter how hard the speaker works to grow
food, most of the crops are not edible.
the speaker’s children must participate in
harvesting the crops if they want to eat well.
despite working hard in the fields, black
farmers faced injustice while trying to feed
their families.
the speaker’s children are given leftovers
because they did not help their father with the
harvest

Explanation:

To determine the meaning of the line, we analyze the poem's context. The speaker (a Black man) sowed widely but reaps little, while his children glean in fields they didn’t sow and eat bitter fruit. This reflects the historical injustice faced by Black farmers—they worked hard (sowed) but were denied fair rewards, so their children had to scavenge (glean) from unearned fields and endure bitter outcomes (bitter fruit), symbolizing systemic inequality.

• The first option is incorrect as the issue is not about crop edibility but injustice.
• The second option misinterprets the line; it’s not about the children needing to harvest for food but about the injustice of their situation.
• The fourth option is wrong because the children glean not because they didn’t help, but because of the injustice that left them with nothing to sow their own fields.
• The third option correctly connects the line to the injustice Black farmers faced: they worked hard but were deprived, leading their children to glean from unearned fields and face bitter consequences.

Answer:

C. Despite working hard in the fields, Black farmers faced injustice while trying to feed their families