Duboy's a Litany at Atlanta

Du boys poem is addressed to god and uses the call and response format of a traditional litany. Yet from the very first line, god is identified as silent. This prayer of petition seeks to understand there can be evil such as was done in atlanta. At one point, the question is raised whether god is dead. Though dubois shies away from this initial flirtation with atheism, the alternative appears to be imagining god as distant, as far removed from the activities of humans here on earth. Du boys is more interested in the pacifist implications of christianity than anything more substantially theological. The tension between apparently religious form and apparently non religious content is also present in du boy