Verses on the Life of Olaudah Equiano
One day when he was but a lad,
Olaudah Equiano's mum and dad
Went to work in the fields away,
Leaving him and his sister home to play.
Strangers came and jumped the wall.
Before the children could even call
For help, they had been bound and carried off.
Their only comfort was to weep
In each other's arms and sleep,
But soon even this was snatched away.
They were parted and sent different ways
After many months of travel, lo!
A miracle occurred: Olaudah Equiano
His beloved sister met again.
But alas! It was not to be!
Once more she was taken and he
Was sold to many more until at last
It chanced to come to pass
That to a kind widow he be sold.
The woman had a son about as old
As him and fast friends they became.
But the Fates seemed not to want him any bliss
For this too was snatched away in night's darkness.
The lad was taken to a place of Hell on earth,
And packed into a horrid, wretched ship at berth.
There they waited for weeks until at last
Those terrifying sailors climbed up the mast
And finally set the ship sail for Barbados.
From being in such a stinking, hellish place,
Olaudah could not suffer food near his face.
And for he could not bring himself to eat,
It came into the foul sailors' minds to beat
The lad with whip which into his flesh tore,
Pain such as he had never felt before
In all his time, free or enslaved, upon the shore.
As they sailed and sailed for months on end,
His very young heart continued to rend.
He envied the wondrous creatures of the deep
For they their freedom were permitted to keep.
And what of those strange flying fish? They were
not even to the sea bound. He longed for home where
He could be well, safe, comforted and warm.
At last the ship splashed into Barbados
And a new terror awaited for those
Who had managed to survive the terrible sea:
They were penned like lowly sheep for all to see.
Male and female, young and old, all were sold
To whomever had the right weight of gold.
Children were taken from their parents' arms
Just so they could tend a wealthy man's farms.
How could anyone have such an icy heart
As to tear so many families apart?
What ever happened to the Golden Rule:
Do unto others as you would have done to you?
Apparently even in this faraway land,
Whose people claimed to follow Christ's hand,
Greed was far more important than any such
Trivial nonsense as Love thy neighbor as thyself.