Pains Of Darkness

This poem is from the civil war era, about a child who is separated from his parents and forced into slavery.

I screamed and I yelled,

My world going black.

I was roughly dragged away,

With no going back.

I watched as my mother cried

Ever so piteously,

Her anguished face

Contorted so hideously.

I was tied and dragged,

To many a cotton fields,

And ordered to work,

Often without meals.

There white men watched,

Faces without pity,

For I was just a little boy,

From a big city.

Borne from a free man,

Borne from a free lady,

Lived in a house,

That was quite stately.

But then there was

that wretched slave act,

White men came pounding

Demanding us ‘back’.
We tried to run,

But we were caught.

Father, thankfully,

Was very well not.

I was bagged, sold,

bought, taken,

Beaten in a place

that is god forsaken.

Whipped and moved,

And more cotton fields,

Punished, lashed,

And slept without meals.

I watched men die,

One by one,

And knew, someday,

My life would be done.

Then I snapped!

Couldn’t take it anymore!

I wasn’t paid a cent

And all my patience was spent,

A teen’s work was lent,

And the injuries just wouldn’t relent.

So here I go now,

Into the forest I plow,

Dogs are coming

Must keep running

Jump the river

Musn’t dither

Have to hurry

Eyes are blurry

They’re on my trail

I gotta bail

And look!

A brook

So I don’t look back,

And the pace doesn’t slack,

As I hurry and I swim

For I must win,

This deadly game,

Where black men are the same,

Which is cruel and unjust,

And end, it must.

Author's Note

Anything is helpful

Reviews

[Anjali]

i think i'm in love with your poems, cuz they are just so fabulous! your writing style is just so good! all i want to say is that keep on writing!