Burleigh's "To The Friends of Emancipation", also printed under the title, "Stanzas: To the Abolitionists of America", in Poems, 1841, is both touching and inspiring. It deals with the horror of losing a family to the injustices of slavery. Burleigh focuses on the "negro wife," a woman bound by gender, race, slavery, duty, and love. Burleigh's conscious use of the language of torture and ties adds to the intense tone and sadness. His use of language, wording, and tone relate a story of strength and fight, not of weakness and resignation.
"Toil and pray!" - Burleigh evokes a dual image here - one spiritual, one earthly. With this opening, he contrasts the two forces of will and spirit. By connecting them with "and" rather than "or", Burleigh recognizes the tension within the slave community - a tension between resigning to one's tragic fate or fighting with the binds of social structure.
"Her - the wretched negro wife, robbed of all that sweetens life" - Burleigh refers to the familial needs and roles with the tragic end of a family destroyed by slavery. Without her children, a negro woman reverts to a "wretched wife," an image of pain and pity.
"Nature's ties" - Again, Burleigh chooses words to evoke a simultaneous image of the figurative ties of family and the literal ties of slavery. The reader understands that two can not co-exist in slave society and feels deeply for the negro woman. Burleigh's conscious word choice shows the contrast between the unnatural binds of slavery and the natural binds of family.
"Reason crushed and conscience blind" - Here, Burleigh is speaking of a woman blinded by loss and regret. However, it is possible to see traces of condemnation for the slaveholders beneath the surface. Burleigh is admonishing the unreasonable and amoral actions of the slavemasters. It is their "crushed" reason that causes the blinding of a wife and mother.
"Toil, until the slave is brought Up to light!" - Once more, Burleigh gives his reader a dual image - both the light of Heaven and death, and the light of reason and freedom. One might deduce that Burleigh takes a pessimistic view and understands that the enslaved woman will most likely know the light of Heaven before the light of reason appears on Earth.
"Every fetter shall be broken, Soon or late" - Although Burleigh does not share the thought of immediate emancipation, he recognizes the future possibility of freedom. He urges his white readers to hold out for equality and the enslaved negro woman to continue her prayer for freedom.
"From the chain!" - Burleigh's poem comes full circle - from the unbroken chains of slave ships to the severed ties of slavery. The final thought is one of hope, whereas the final word is a recognition of the fight still ahead.
Burleigh uses punctuation to add intensity and strength to his poem and to his meesage. With the dashes, he recognizes the black marks that slavery has etched into society. With the exclamation points, Burleigh urges his reader to hope for a better day when we can work together to get beyond the black dashes of history.
Burleigh's poem appears to be simply a story about a woman enslaved by slave society, separated from her children and therefore her life. Underneath, Burleigh is admonishing the slaveholders, the politicians, and those standing idly by. His poem is meant to move its reader to action, to touch him deeply, and to make him remember the natural ties of family in constant war with the unnatural chains of slavery.