deepundergroundpoetry.com

The plight of a slave

Black and white
All innocent before thy sight
Elegant beings with their first bellow
The sign of life fluxing through their veins
But little do they know
That their fate is nothing but a desolate fellow.

Abandoned by their creators
And left in the hands of vultures
A tiny box as their companion
And the wails of a frightened infant
The only route to a savior
But a new hen approaches with a bad omen.

She rescues the creature from nature�s savageness
Only to be raised by Cinderella�s wicked stepmother
Together with her vexatious family
The loathsome treatment against their skin
Transforms its beauty into scales
Frail like a Somalian child.

The placidity of life has turned her face
And allowed her other personality to dominate
Pain is their reward for hard-work
A handy object, subject to rejection and destruction
The sound of crickets chirping is their lullaby in the dark
Against the cold wet floor they bend to feel the warmth.

Love doesn�t seem to recognize them
The only affection they receive from their master
Is just a ladle of sweet mashed potatoes
And a glass of pipe water
�Enjoy, for this your meal for the day�
Clasp in hands, they devour like a ravenous dog.

When will this plight close its book
When will their struggling mouth be free from this fishing hook
To swim in the ocean freely once more
Perhaps it is ordained for them to battle for oxygen
To gasp for a while and invite death to wrap them up
This is their fate; the fate of a slave.

Treated as rugs
And the sole of their master�s feet stroked to and fro
They were of virtue when they saw the light
For the first time
But as dusk and dawn flew past
Their esteem grew dim.

Maybe God will show mercy
And deliver them from their misery
There is a glimmer of hope
For every perilous situation
They merely have to cope; to endure the load they carry
For one day, they too would tell their story.