Poem: Unchained Reality

“Yes, master,”
She uttered
as she cleaned away his mess
with tears rolling down her cheeks
Pain in her voice even as she speaks

“No, sir,”
Was heard from afar
Echoes of a man caned thoroughly on his back
for not replacing the saddle on the rack!

Engulfed by their memory
because that’s all I have of history
so they continue as they explain
some words maybe they refrain

Exclaimed were words said loudly
to an extent indeed uttered proudly
painful, cold and as though out of touch with nature
though the reality is…truth has no temperature

…and so the story is narrated and so it goes
Living in scripture through smiles and woes
Days are long gone, dead and buried
When the oppressed should still feel voiceless worried

Put under a threat was the lies they told
Inch by inch my life they sold
And even with that in their palms my kids will one day hold
The rich African soil more precious than gold

So I learn that it is the sad realization of what I know
and now I’m always puzzled of the hard actualization of how to show
That the blood that was shed was not in vain
And on the ground lies the remains
of all the hurt sorrow and pain

But I have now known it will not shine
If you do not smile
It will not rise
If you don’t praise
It will not thrive
If you do not drive

Living through you and me
is the reality our warriors dreamt to see
Walking and working hand in hand on the red brown soil of my land

Through the bare stride
Has this land allowed me to confide
through the confident and brave fight
Was a vision of the future, an infinite sight
I live for the history that had me in mind
I love the current that is ever so kind
I yearn for the true beauty I am yet to find
…engraved in a curve, dip and peak
Within you peace is all I seek.