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The Mole II

Ron Raye

July 2023 978098004522

791 pages

The Mole II is a distinctive and compelling free-verse
monologue about the horrors and devastating effects of slavery on the victims as well as the perpetrators of that wicked and debilitating institution. It is about the mental and psychological hardships experienced by each slave. The voice tells the story of their journey from West Africa across the Middle Passage to their respective ports. The reader hears a sad and compelling tale about a young woman who had been raped by her master and then beaten.
Willem, the anonymous, appears, and the poet alludes to the idea that he, Willem, serves as one of the architects of slavery. He is the voice that appears everywhere and nowhere. This section is, most importantly, about the devasting lives, shattered lives, and shattered dreams of the victims during and after emancipation.
The voice is compassionate as well as healing, and the language concise and transparent

They dropped us here
like animals.
Across the dark passage of time
behind the curtain, we see despair
like blood-stained streets.
The evil thing severed our tongues
stopped the flow of funds,
stifled our movements and made us weak.
We were unaware of how far
back the snatches of bodies went
and how widespread and wicked it was.

Raye's book takes an in-depth look at both the perpetrators and victims of slavery and the lasting impacts of that institution. Raye doesn't pull any punches as he dives into the sensitive topic, following the journey taken by many enslaved people and exploring both their individual stories and their collective pain. From the woman who is raped and beaten to the returning character of Willem, who appears to "{serve} as one of the architects of slavery." Raye uses various characters and stories to convey the depth and breadth of the history he is dramatizing, and he does so without romanticizing, dehumanizing, or trivializing.

Literary Titan