OUR HISTORY
The white men brought their voyages to our shores
We accepted them with open hands Even though their looks shocked us to our very cores
Took them to our leader and made them feel at home.
They were in awe of our land and stunned by the biome
Our king took pleasure in showing them around our safe haven
Then they brought to us news of a creator and glad tidings that await his followers far above us in heaven.
Taught us a different lauguage and we got so absorbed that we felt at ease and dropped our weapons
They gave us the Bible and the minute we looked down to get it, we missed the flaming beacons
Now we had the bible and they had our land
They showed us no mercy, forced themselves on our women, and fed the men who dared to stand up harsh sand
We were forced to toil and moil for them in Our own land
Bounded by chains and shackles from our necks to our calves
Whipped non stop with little or no food for ourselves
We watched our fellow brothers our kids, and our wives lose their lives
What they did was uncalled for, totally inhumane and horrific
They stole our artifacts and took our abled men as slaves to help them build their land, how terrific!
We struggled to get our lands back from their tyrant hands
They still treat our brothers over there like shit rendering them powerless
But we all know what they are scared of lies in our skin, the blood they have on their hands and our prowess
Now their lands blooms from our hardwork and it houses our art works
They claim to make history hiding out all the gory details. what do they take us for? Dorks?
The truth lives on in our black skin and our heart bleeds with forgiveness even though they never asked
Because we can only be forced down if our success is revenge driven or our heart is filled with rage and hate left unmasked
We have risen from the shackles, slowly healing from the pain and we're on a quest for greatness
Our homes are still open to you with the same hospitality of our ancestors But that's not because we forgot the evil you hid in our history, we Just refuse to choose war over our humanity and happiness
~Maryama
About this poem
it's a poem about slavery and the rise of the black folks through the eyes of a black teenager.
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Written on September 19, 2022
Submitted by alhassanmaryam67 on September 19, 2022
Modified on April 25, 2023
- 2:10 min read
- 1 View
Quick analysis:
Scheme | A A B B C C D D E E E X X X F F X G G X A H H G G |
---|---|
Characters | 2,132 |
Words | 432 |
Stanzas | 25 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1 |
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"OUR HISTORY" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/139940/our-history>.
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