In Countee Cullen’s “Tableau,” two boys—one Black, one white—walk arm in arm across a street in broad daylight. The image is deliberately balanced: one is called “the golden splendor of the day,” the other “the sable pride of night.” People in both communities react with shock and disapproval. Black neighbors stare from behind lowered blinds, and white neighbors talk indignantly, angry that the two dare to walk together so openly. The boys themselves seem calm and “oblivious to look and word.” To them, their friendship is natural, not a scandal. The final image compares them to lightning cutting across thunder—something rare and powerful, maybe even threatening to those watching, but also beautiful and full of energy. The speaker’s tone is admiring and quietly defiant, creating a mood of dignity, tension, and hope.
Tableau — Summary
Locked arm in arm they cross the way, The black boy and the white, The golden splendor of the day, The sable pride of night.
From lowered blinds the dark folk stare, And here the fair folk talk, Indignant that these two should dare In unison to walk.
Oblivious to look and word They pass, and see no wonder That lightning brilliant as a sword Should blaze the path of thunder.