09:35 Oct 22 

Reference information:
to translate this well, we really need to know what was in the poet's mind re "coton". Perhaps you could ask him/her?

My first thought was that it referred to the muffling of the sound carried over a distance. I had also considered Deborah's idea (re slaves) but discarded this on the grounds that cotton isn't exclusively grown by slaves, although no doubt this is the image conjured up in North America.

So, it really would help if you obtained a clear picture of what you think the poet has in mind here, in case a literal translation isn't the most suitable