The speaker of the poem is a cautious, hardworking farmer who plants crops across vast stretches of land, from Canada to Mexico. He works diligently to protect his harvest from natural threats, yet he is unable to keep the vast majority of what he grows. Functioning as an allegorical representative of the broader Black community, he experiences systemic racial exploitation and carries a deep sorrow over his inability to secure a prosperous legacy for his descendants.

The progeny of the Black man inherit the bitter realities of their father's exploited labor. They occupy the fields he has tirelessly worked, but rather than enjoying wealth or stability, they are forced to glean from lands they did not sow. Their consumption of the unappetizing harvest symbolizes the intergenerational hardship and disillusionment passed down to Black youth.

The nephews of the Black man belong to the next generation of laborers. They work alongside the speaker's children, collecting what little yield remains from their uncle's extensive sowing. Their presence demonstrates that the cycle of unfulfilled labor impacts the extended family and the broader community, ensuring economic precarity passes from one generation to the next.

A familial counterpart to the Black man whose sons are left to scavenge in the fields. Though not directly active in the poem's narrative, his existence highlights the widespread nature of the family's shared generational struggle and the collective difficulty of providing for descendants.