Enlarged Enclave of Slavery

by Manish Singh Rajput

Thursday 25th May 2023 7:40 am

Searching for the good, he'd ran into evil.

Who made him do all their chores, mine the ores,

Do everything as per the commands and notes

Instructed by the merciless, non-bargaining devil.

He had to climb up and fix the gable,

Maintain the hay and horses at the stable,

Collect well-water and check the electricity cable,

All as per the gruesome decisions taken by the high table.

He’d heard bits about the slave trade in Africa,

Yet, he’d traversed to feed his dreams of America.

He wanted to see the sea wolves, Kodiak bears, otters,

And clear his suspicion of California being an island.

Within a week, all his dreams were shattered and shackled.

He marched along with his chained African brothers

To halls where the horse auctions were usually held,

Sold to a white privateer for his refined masculine muscularity.

The choiceless young man had to obey and put in hard-work,

Sweat blood, sleep on mud, and still get beaten to bruises,

Get along with it, watching fellow-natives hung with nooses.

He was jaded and his dreams were barricaded without excuses.

Comments

Manish Singh Rajput

Fri 26th May 2023 05:52

Thank you, Kevin. Yes she does, with open arms.☀️
Thank you my friend, John B.
Thank you, Hélèna. I'm just exploring little by little of my capabilities and caliber. I'd like to give it a try someday (writing a novel), right now just testing myself with different genres of poetry.

Hélène

Thu 25th May 2023 16:56

You have a remarkable ability to get into the detailed thoughts and feelings of a wide variety of people, Manish (the old woman, the slave, etc). I wonder if you also have the gift of being a fiction novelist. (Not me, I tried writing fiction but did not enjoy the process nor the results. I can write poetry, prose, and legal etc. analysis, but with fiction I sound sooo forced and fake!)

John Botterill

Thu 25th May 2023 15:23

A majestic poem which superblycommunicates the heroism and strength of an individual who is pitted against an inhamane and despicable system. Amazing!

Kevin Tan

Thu 25th May 2023 14:44

And the Earth opens up to welcome all her children back home. Welcome home child

Manish Singh Rajput

Thu 25th May 2023 13:54

Thanks a lot for the appreciation, Keith. I have yet to watch "13 years a Slave" and "Emancipation". These two films are on my watch-list and I will surely watch it in near future. However, I was watching a short YT video the other day, titled "Lincoln abolishes slavery with the 13th amendment" that spoke of how the Civil War had disturbed him and had him look closer into his insights on freedom and end of slavery. I had also read a short article on "Slave Trade" the same day that motivated me to write this poem. The recent years blockbuster film "Get Out" had also provoked me to a certain level.
Thus, I have tried to give a sense of past and present situation in this poem, thank you for recognising it and mentioning the same in your comment. I'm glad that you caught the details and could reverberate with my poem yet again, Keith.🌻

keith jeffries

Thu 25th May 2023 09:05

Manish,
another good poem, well thought out and constructed. I particularly like the illustration which accompanies it. The focus on slavery is firmly fixed on what took place centuries ago. A time of appalling cruelty and exploitation. This I believe should be used as the foundation to look more closely to slavery as it exists today. We must seek to eradicate it completely. May I draw your attention to a film entitled "Slave for 12 Years", a film directed by a British director by the name of Steve McQueen. Your poem captures the mood of slavery, through different eyes, in the Americas. I have already read it a few times. Your use of language is excellent as you clearly portray what was taking place at the time.
Thank you for this
Keith

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