Best Slaves Poems
In the silent breathing of night,
treading through
the darkness and the hush
(A heavy band of slave)
like black ants snaking
through the forlorn distance.
Grieving with tears
Of yesterdays burning anguish.
They hum a languid song
On the fragrant breath of wind.
A haunt that invades my trembling eyes
With a thousand boundless tears
That quivers through the night.
The dreaded echoes came down the black pathway
Like a thousand men
Galloping through the sultry breeze
(Were the heartless whips that toiled)
With dumb hands,
Feeding paled pink flesh
With endless stings of cruel misery.
The stars curled around their naked feet
As they trampled the grass
Wet with lurid dew and the masked
Beds of fragrant hues
Prancing in the hallowed night.
I could feel the storming of their sorrows,
The rock of their heart
Drooping with defeat.
Despair a master to their fading hope
That sailed across their faces.
Oh those foul notes budding with despair
Branched within their eyes.
The lulling whispers of their shackles
United with their treading feet like hooves
Cloaked with heavy weariness
(It surrounded the dead of night)
I hung up my fears
For I was bright with their pain
Oh I died that day
Oh I died that day
While drifting to the helpless East
To that damp cold earth filled
With drowsy mournful Asters
Then the smell of dead men came alive
Black dogs clustered to the earth
Their children beside them with gripping hands!
Nature trail extends for miles
Surrounded by wetlands and lakes
Each step I take brings me closer
To an old plantation, where I climb the stiles
For it was here that slaves once toiled
To raise and harvest sugar cane
Their cries and moans can still be heard
And the Plantation’s magic is spoiled
Within this forest are the echoes
Of every gasp, every word
Slaves once uttered in their daily trials
In these deep woods, far from the meadows
Spanish settlers claimed this site
Where Natives suffered in their plight
Shadowy specters never kissed by sunlight
Reverberating sadness in a world void of light
Written February 19, 2020
N/A in Joseph May's “Lines to Awaken Your Muse” poetry contest, judged March 2, 2020.
Line Chosen: #4 by Robert Frost - “Whose woods these are, I think I know”
NB This is not a literal translation of the famous choir "Va Pensiero" from the Nabbucco, but just what I felt as when many, many years ago I was in a choir and sang this lovely aria.
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Listen to our pitiful pleas, Oh Almighty God.
Let them be heard from every mountain and vale.
Let my prayers ascend to Heaven above
That we may one day cross the Jordan
And return to our promised land,
A place of milk and honey and fragrance
Dispersed throughout our sweet native land.
We acknowledge our sinful nature, Lord.
We dared adore other pagan gold and stony idols,
And left you so far away from our laws.
We lament our sins and accept our punishment.
Slavery in pagan Babylon, condemned
To death and other painful beatings.
Yet, if we are not to be allowed to go back to Zion,
At least Almighty God, teach us to endure our sufferings.
Listen you poor, puny, proud black child
Standing on street corners and living in poverty.
Listen you educated, sophisticated woman and man
Seeking prosperity in this American society.
Don’t you know: Chains set us free?
Listen to this black sister’s voice
People of color everywhere.
It’s time you realized, our release from oppression
Came only through the power of prayer.
From Africa our strong-willed ancestors
Brought rhythm, song and dance.
Such gifts lifted wounded spirits
And despite heavy burdens, they sought to advance.
In bondage slaves cried out to God
Just like the Israelites did in Egypt long ago.
The heavier the chains, the more fervent the prayers
Till finally God commanded, “Let My people go!”
Don’t you know: Chains set us free?
Slave ships delivered chained bodies
Of a people who were born free
Growing from belief in native religions
to belief in Jesus
They obeyed the LORD who urged,
“Come unto me.”
“Repent black child, come back to me,”
Is Jesus, the Savior’s cry,
“I am the Lord and I change not,
On me you can still rely.
“Call to me and I will answer you,
And set you free once more.
Trust me, wait patiently, and remember,
From bondage to freedom, I, Alone, Am the Door.”
You must never forget black child: Chains set us free.
food, god, and the universe as you
You are the universe (I insist and will prove it)
So say grace before you eat ...
You agree we are stardust, the stuff of the Universe
So say grace before you eat, but think productively ...
If stars & humans are stardust, why not the food we eat?
So say grace before you eat ... and respect the food you become
Like the sun, we turn a piece of bread into bigger humans
So say grace before you eat ... know why Jesus did so
We have been recycled here, not dumped from another "place"
So say grace before you eat ... we are in this together
Listen: like water is not created, only recycled, so are we!
Say grace before you eat ... or drink!
We are eating the sun daily, in terms of food pyramids, the food chain
Say grace before you eat, drink, or go fishing ...
We are recycled energy from sun, recycled water, modified fish, meat, fruit
Say grace before you eat fruit, fish, fowl, or larger mammals or snails
And do not let THEM tell you where you stop connecting with YOUR universe
Say grace before you eat, and during cooking, by thanking life in the pot
Jesus made much of the communion; you let RELIGION stick you a ritual:
Lapsed Episcopal Minister, Alan Watts, said: "Cooking is a process of loving"
Say grace before ... during ... after consuming the Universe
Because you are consuming YOURSELF: You The Universe Disguised!
Land of the free
Home of the slaves
The blood, sweat and tears of my ancestors resonate
Amongst the soil where they were slain
I’m hearing their struggle
I’m feeling their pain
I can’t imagine being forced to part from my family
All for massa’s gain
So I pay homage to those who promoted change
People like every slave who tried to escape
Nat Turner, Ms Carlotta, Harriet Tubman
And the safe houses who were in accord
And peg leg Joe with his song
Follow the drinking gourd.
People like, the disregarded - those thrown overboard
And who was dismissed and defamed
The ones who were stripped of their soul, their pride, their names
The list could go on
The full will never be told
So I pay homage to others who were bold
Like John Brown, The Freedom Riders, Sojourner Truth
Ida B Wells, Phyllis Wheatley, Maya Angelou,
Langston Hughes and Charles Drew
George Washington Carver, Ruby Bridges
Booker T Washington and Mary McCleod Bethune
Charles Houston, Ralph Bunche, Fredrick Douglass
WEB Dubois, Paul Robeson, Ralph Abernathy
Benjamin Banneker, Marcus Garvey and Crispus Attucks
Who’s death by the way
Symbolized the American lie
You cant declare the rights of all men
While the people of African decent rights get denied
But still we rise
Thanks to Dr Martin Luther King, Malcolm X,
The Black Panthers, the Buffalo Soldiers and Tuskegee Airmen
None who were showed any love
Yeah it’s an uphill battle,
But obviously greatness can be done.
We can rise above this stigma
That blacks are lazy and daunting
That our worth is null and void
And in essence minus nothing
And of all the names mentioned
And the greatness of their successes
No one has been able to erase the evil transgressions of a racist mind
And once you have experienced just a taste of it
It changes your perception of time
The oppression beats like the drum on the chariot
Of when it was finally time to escape to freedom
It's mine
Oh, slaves of the nation who works and sweat!
Tired and restless--but still flee overseas
to support a hungry future that frets.
With barks and claws gained from descent degrees,
if we must succeed-- oh, let us nobly work
so our blood and sweat may not fall to scrap,
veins swollen yet act by act we don't fall to smirk.
Freeing a flood of effort through thorns of gaps
though greedy compatriots act like monsters,
their eyes open wide but gone blindfolded by lies
some struggles and shout, aiming to conquer
bracing away from forms of guns and bribes.
Slaves are we but we're brave enough to replace
those crashing obstacles with lace of grace!
____________________________________________
***Sponsor Shadow Hamilton
Contest Name Your Favourite Old Poem #3
++Placed 5th++
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***Sponsor Cyndi MacMillan
Contest Name I CAN'T BREATHE: A peaceful Protest, An Anthology of Powerful Poems
++Placed 1st++
O.E. Guillermo
4:29 pm; December 12, 2014
slaves of love in darkness
On curious views
In robes of patience
Feeding on fear
Running in tears
Seeking a leader Braver than Man
Day breakers summoned
By outcomes of yesterday
Pregnant with life
On a journey to an endless tomorrows
Surrounded by joy and sin
Under force of mortality
Faith was dethroned
Knowing seized concluding
Witnessing was a mouthful
In age of miracles
Once upon a time we all used to live together. By we I mean blacks and whites. The people from Ireland 'Irish" lived with black Caribbeans. They were shipped from Ireland as slaves to west indian masters. they settled in a place called Montserrat. None of the were freed from slavery. They never had a law passed to free Irish slaves. However, after they finished their work of their masters they eventually were set free.
Blacks lived with some Irish whites and British whites. They had to travel to Africa to gather people who knew nothing about slaves or slavery. They couldn't capture west indian people because that's where they came from. They used the money collected from their masters to buy their new slaves. African slaves were indeed freed by president Abraham Lincoln. Who wrote and signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863.
Even after slavery blacks and whites continued to live and work together. Some even had children by their masters. Things were this way for years. All they had was each other. All they knew was each other. The only two races forced to live together. Can't get along today in today's society. These facts maybe be a harsh reality, but oh so true.
They only two races of people that were not slaves were the Spanish and Italians. They were never owned, sold, or brought by a black or white man. They fought for their belief and freedom. Also demanded respect so they would not have to bow down to any master. They never got captured and beat. They did the beatings and never got beat. They also lived in black neighborhoods. Which sometimes caused riots. rivalries, and many fights. Due to they fact that both races are very similar in alot of ways.
Overall, blacks and whites both endured slavery to some extreme. Our ancestors would, protest, march, died, and sacrificed for our freedom today. So I don't understand why there is so much hate in the world today. If you don't know your past;you won't be able to handle your future. You will be without understanding. History does repeat itself. Thank You!
Have we opened up Pandora's
box
That we can't now seem to
close
Secrets don't stay on the block
The price of progress I suppose
We have become a world of
voyeurs
Engrossed in other peoples
dreams
Debutantes celebutaunts
posers
Athletes, actors and queens.
Enemies, frenemies bffs
Who crave the madding crowd
Who appear to live with no
regrets
Except no negative vibes
allowed.
“nature’s living slaves” (Haiku Poem)
nature's living slaves
prisoners serving mankind
mighty elephants
Jim was a young black lad,
In the era of slavery in the States.
And there was nothing he had,
Except a merciless owner filled with hates.
He worked hard on the plantation all day,
Only to face discrimination & pain.
He pined for days when he would live his way,
And would be free and sans chain.
One day, while dusting master’s house with his frail hands,
Jim broke a priced souvenir which earned him whips,
And also harsh words which were tough to withstand.
Later, with teary eyes he asked God why was he cursed with curly hair & big lips?
The following morn, when master’s baby was fast asleep;
The homestead was being consumed by the flames of a fuming fire.
The child woke up mewling loudly with constant weep,
While distressed master watched helplessly as the flames went up higher.
Now who could save his little son?
From the blazes & sparks burning the house?
And right when everyone thought that the kid could be saved by no one.
The hero inside Jim did arouse.
With guts & courage, he jumped into the fire, took a dive,
Trying to save the boy with all his might & lots of pluck.
And after a few minutes of struggle, master’s boy came out alive.
But sadly Jim got burnt; nothing could save him, neither prayer nor luck.
Amidst the relief and happiness that his child got saved,
Something touched the master’s stone heart & he broke into tears,
For he couldn’t even thank that young slave.
It was something which would haunt him for years.
The boy’s demise had made him repent his evil deeds & malicious sins.
He went into a state of depression & began questioning his own soul.
Repented he deeply on his acts of malice on people with black skin,
Realizing that he only had a white hide but a heart as black as coal.
so the next day, all his slaves roamed unchained & free from slavery;
As master freed them all with a sense of redemption.
And the slaves who were leaving, saluted the late Jim for his bravery,
A boy whose actions had shown that even hatred can be turned into love & affection.
Tied up in chains and fear
I want my mummy as she shed a tear
Only three years of age and in her own
At the bottom of the ship wanting to go home
Up for auction that very next day
She couldn't understand a word they would say
Sold to the man at the back of the crowd
Who came to greet her grinning and proud
The stranger grabbed her hand leading the way
To were she would be working night and day
When she was exhausted and could work no more
She would get a whipping and fall to the floor
A year past and still know sign of mum
But she still had faith praying she would come
Her body so small in pain you could tell
All this torture it felt like hell
The hatred she felt sadness in her heart
She just wanted her mummy and not to be apart
Still she stayed strong through her nightmare days
She thought all this horror may just be a phase
So thin she was no food for her
She realised how life could be so unfair
Because they thought she was different black was her skin
But she new the nasty men were living in sin
She had had enough it was time to say goodbye
She new her mummy would be waiting in the sky
She closed her eyes and imagined mummy's face
Knowing she was going to a much happier place
I would like to thank you for your visit.
I have removed these poems for a distant future book publication.
I believe we poets, can make a difference
in this world. We live in the 21st century,
we have tools( technology), we have our past, and imagination.
We just don't have the courage, because
I guess most are afraid to fail, to loose money.
All I have to say is we can't take money with us,
when we die. I also say hasn't mankind failed enough,
and isn't mankind worth the effort, our children is worth the effort..
Thank you, and my your God Bless you
John E WordSlinger
He came on the brink of the ******* ascent to the White House;
A slave of an unusual sort.
He peered,
From the tiny window in the quarter,
At the snow
Smothering life,
And felt his predecessors’ woe.
Many, like Stella,
Came to find a groove
But purchased with perjury
Men with desires to excel;
To escape the clutch of privation
And scorn.
Ambitious to become house-wives
With uneducated spouses
And the need for the goodlife.
The unscrupulous requests grow intolerable
And recentments fester and prosper,
While the innocent observe
And absorb this lie.
Words cut like razor
And provoked the unthinkable;
Children, like chains,
And immigration shackles
Derailed the contemplations
Of living again.