Black Ants from Africa
I saw black ants in a big ship
After they were taken from the pits
(The pits they dug themselves and received schnapps and mirror)
They named the pit dungeon
And were sent to a small door all at Cape Coast
To be on a saviour ship that came to steal, kill and to destroy
Were they forced?
No, but greedy ants sent their young ants to the lizards
To the father ant, it was a punishment
But mother ant never heard the cry of her grandchildren
(not to talk about bathing them)
But the Lizards ears were flooded with cries of missing home by baby ants
The ship moved slowly with forgotten dreams
And came faster with pain, sickness and a new fate
A lot of the ants were left in the Atlantic
Just to make dinner for its inhabitants
And the rest of them deposited in a land full of plantations
Where their destinies were met; born to serve
The ants sung songs of their land
To ease their yoke
But those were not enough to pay for their voyage
They built sandcastles and pains
And were forced to the Islands when they couldn’t build again
It was there some found a new home
And saved enough food before the rains started.
Again, I saw black Ants,
Moving in the air with burning fire in their hands
To find the mother ants they left in Cape Coast
And share with them the untold stories across the Atlantic
And the new identities they have had
But one thing they all could not forget,
Is the love they have for the black home
which the traders call, Africa.
Inspired by true events, this poem talks about how my Ancestors were taken from Africa shipped to America to work in their plantations and later sent to the Caribbeans. Now most Caribbeans want to trace their ancestry and visit Africa to connect with their souls and ancestry
Copyright © Lambert Adwini-Poku | Year Posted 2024
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