On one silent night
Did I lay on my bed’
My sleep was nowhere to be found,
The sounds in my ears,
Overcame my heavy eyes,
The oceans cried,
And the seas wailed,
The joy of the sharks,
Knew no bounds,
I let down my ears,
Eaves dropping into the conferences,
My ears tingled,
And my sleep was taken away.
My thoughts went down into history,
The whales’ belly was full of my brothers,
Those were the heroes of the past,
Great men in their lands
But the waves of slave trade,
Swept them abroad,
And scattered their folks.
My eyes went to the slumber land,
There did I see
My brothers wailing and crying,
We were sold by our neighbours
On the seas,
We were cast in the deep,
The whales swallowed our shivering souls,
And the sharks tore our dry flesh,
Packed like sardines,
And behold in a twinkling of an eye,
At the conference below the deep,
I saw my forefathers,
Looking and staring at me,
And they admired my riches
My wears and my jewelleries,
And they said to me,
And told me,
About their adventures,
So soon we have forgotten,
The agony of our lost brothers,
Who were brutalized,
Who paid the supreme price,
For our progress.
We sailed to the lands beyond,
And I saw my brother sweating,
Chained and tormented,
His children, nowhere to be found,
And my brother asked me,
Where was his parents?
Why was he enslaved?
When will he ever return home?
Will He ever get out of bondage?
When will He reconcile with His children?
Questions, no answers,
So did I remain dumb,
And I couldn’t speak a word,
And we sailed back home.
On our way,
I saw the bodies of
My brothers’ neighbours
Both small and great,
Lying ten fathoms below the deep.
And I could not but weep
When I saw the strong,
Energetic and vibrant men,
Lying in waste,
These were men,
Who were displaced from great vessels
Who shivered on the sea,
And I wondered who is responsible
For all this,
In my wonder
Did I wake up,
Panting on my bed.