THE LIFE OF SLAVES

It wasn’t enough that they took away their freedom

It wasn’t enough that they bound their wrists and ankles

It wasn’t enough that they called them crude names

It wasn’t enough that the called them slaves

It wasn’t enough that they abused their women

It wasn’t enough that they stripped their men of their pride

It just wasn’t enough!

Wearing rags or nothing

They put them on a wooden stage

They auctioned them

Spitting out prices

Mocking their very existence

Erasing whatever dignity they had left

They drew symbols on them

Ugly markings that carried meaning

They labelled them slaves

They treated them like animals

They spat on them

And whipped them at will

This was the life they now lived

The life of slaves

Plowing from sunrise to sunset

Like a thousand yoke of oxen

Fed like dogs

No rights

No opinions

No freedom

This was the life they now lived

The life of slaves

 

By Sylvia Chika

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© SylviaChika 2016