In the poem "Runagate, Runagate," Robert Hayden describes the escape of slaves who were running to the North trying to find freedom. He describes this in two different ways.
First, he talks from the point of view of the slave. He describes the fear that they felt running at night, as well as the determination that encouraged them. On the other hand, he describes the runaway slaves from the perspective of their master. The master describes them as scorpions, and warns of how difficult they are to catch.
The author uses these two points of view in order to increase the suspense and excitement of the text. He wants people to wonder what will happen and whether the slaves will be able to escape from their masters.
