An aging, rural Southern farmer whose bad leg and weak lungs prevent him from joining the Ku Klux Klan's night raid. A veteran of past racist attacks, he sits on his porch listening to the screams of Black men being tortured nearby. He romanticizes his past participation in violent acts and takes immense pride in his son's active role in the current attack.

A young rural white man who has just taken part in beating innocent Black men with heavy chains. He returns to his family home exhausted from the physical exertion of swinging the metal but highly exhilarated by the violence. He views the racist murder as a thrilling activity, comparing it favorably to hunting game animals.

An elderly Southern white woman, married to the old man and mother to the son. She acts as a dutiful Christian homemaker whose primary concern following her son's participation in a murder is the practical matter of laundering his bloodied shirt. Her focus on cleaning completely ignores the moral horror of what the blood represents.

The young children of the son, who stand as silent witnesses to their family's celebration of racist violence. They observe their grandfather's pride and assist their grandmother in washing the blood from their father's shirt. Their presence illustrates how hate and bigotry are passed down to the next generation through casual normalization.

Innocent Black men targeted by the local Ku Klux Klan mob. Though they never appear physically in the narrative frame, their agonized cries initiate the poem's action and expose the complete lack of empathy in the white family listening to them. They endure brutal beatings with heavy chains under the cover of night.