the third stanza of the poem, Angelou suggests that some people see Equality as a "wanton" woman, "fly[ing] from man to man." This image of Equality as a promiscuous woman suggests that some people have a derogatory attitude towards the idea of equality. The implication is that some people think that the idea of equality should only apply to some people but not others. In the second half of the stanza, Angelou suggests that the people who have this attitude only see Equality as "a shadow," and are, therefore, incapable of understanding what the idea of equality really means.

Later in the poem, Angelou says that people who don't understand what equality really means are wearing "blinkers" which impair their vision, and have "padding" in their ears to impair their hearing. These images emphasize the idea that those who don't understand equality are ignorant and unable to see or hear clearly.

In the first and seventh stanzas of the poem, Angelou uses the aural imagery of "drums" to imply that the march towards equality is, like the sound of a drum beat, constant, insistent and relentless. Indeed, these drums "beat ... nightly" and "the rhythms never change."

There are several examples of continued imagery which lend vividness to this poem by Maya Angelou. In the first instance, we find imagery related to soldiering, which recurs throughout. Early in the poem, the speaker is "stand[ing] boldly," "trim and marking time," suggestive of an infantryman performing a military maneuver, obeying every rule and doing everything perfectly. Accompanying this soldierly image are "drums beat[ing] out the message" in a "rhythm" which does not change.

This militaristic imagery reappears in the fourth stanza, when the speaker declares that s/he is "marching forward," and again in the final stanza's repeated references to night-beating "drums," "rhythm" and "tempo." The poem's refrain, too, contributes to the semantic field of soldiering, as the speaker calls out, like an advancing army, her rhythmic mantra: "Equality, and I will be free." Even the rhyme scheme of the poem suggests a marching song, with a steady beat that might accompany an army as it strides onward. In this poem, the militaristic imagery supports the poem's theme of the oppressed as an army, advancing steadily and in step with each other in search of their freedom and equality.

In contrast to this army of people who know where they are going and what they are seeking, the subject of the poem, the unnamed "you," is out of step and unwilling to see ("own") what is happening. The image of the "glass which will not shine" is presented as a tenuous argument on the part of the subject who does not wish to see what is occurring, or hear the "drums" of change. The subject's unwillingness to accept the change is depicted through images of "padding" in his ears and "blinders" on his eyes. If the subject cannot see the need for equality, or the fact that the oppressed will do anything to get it, it is not because the oppressed armies do not make their case clearly, but because nothing will make the listeners want to open their eyes and see it.

In the first stanza, the speaker notes that "you" (the listener or auditor) does not see her clearly. The speaker stands "boldly" and clearly ("trim") in her particular place in society ("rank") and in a more general way, in space and time. However, the she notes that the listener looks at her as if through a foggy or opaque glass. 

In the second stanza, she notes that the listener does admit (here, "own" means to admit) to hear her faintly. We have the image of the speaker beating out the rhythms of her message and it never changes. She wants to be heard. She wants to be equal in the mind of the listener. The listener admits to hearing her but ignores the message. 

In the fourth stanza, the image is the shadow. The speaker is trying to convince the listener to treat all people equally. This can not happen if the listener refuses to see her, hear her, and acknowledge her as an equal. If she is nothing more than a shadow, the listener will never understand. 

In the seventh stanza, the speaker repeats images of the visual and auditory senses. 

Take the blinders from your vision, 
take the padding from your ears, 
and confess you've heard me crying, 
and admit you've seen my tears. 

These images are all in efforts to convince the listener to open his/her mind. Opening the senses is a way to illustrate this idea. In order to be considered as an equal, other people (the listener) must validate the speaker's existence: to look at her clearly and to hear what she has to say.