Letter to the Water (A Memoir)
Five times did my desperate cries echo, unheard.
No hands or feet, yet your waves whipped my skin.
Did you never think of freeing our kin?
Perhaps it was their tears that cursed you, turning you salty.
A silent guilt you bear, nourishing our lands.
No hands or feet, yet your waves whipped my skin.
Did you never think of freeing our kin?
Perhaps it was their tears that cursed you, turning you salty.
A silent guilt you bear, nourishing our lands.
Waters that once cradled my birth, joyous and divine,
Now trap memories of my father's face in mine.
A medal you wear, unpaid but profound.
I sipped from your members, and you spat in disdain
Memories of my father etched, impossible to drain.
Daily reflections mirrored on your boundless pages,
I flipped and cried, bitter tears like sour sages...
Now trap memories of my father's face in mine.
A medal you wear, unpaid but profound.
I sipped from your members, and you spat in disdain
Memories of my father etched, impossible to drain.
Daily reflections mirrored on your boundless pages,
I flipped and cried, bitter tears like sour sages...
You, who bore the scent of all spices, sweet and nice,
Now swallowed our patriarchs for false white lies.
Now swallowed our patriarchs for false white lies.
History whispered of how they pleaded with you,
Begged for their freedom from your watery blue.
How they fought for love, brotherhood, and a chance.
Of how they caught you by the skin but you escaped their grasp.
Five times, five letters, their desperate stance.
Begged for their freedom from your watery blue.
How they fought for love, brotherhood, and a chance.
Of how they caught you by the skin but you escaped their grasp.
Five times, five letters, their desperate stance.
Waters of Africa, sing of rhythmic cadence.
As the cascading down of the waves play to and fro.
It's all clear now, they play our memories, our history.
A song, woven to your waves in sorrow's tune,
A dirge of our innocence buried in an unjust monsoon.
A perfect replica of the piece, "Wade in the Waters,"
A medal of strength written upon heartbreaking chapters.
As the cascading down of the waves play to and fro.
It's all clear now, they play our memories, our history.
A song, woven to your waves in sorrow's tune,
A dirge of our innocence buried in an unjust monsoon.
A perfect replica of the piece, "Wade in the Waters,"
A medal of strength written upon heartbreaking chapters.
You could've fought, battled against the tour of white,
You would've waved your currents till our warriors saw the light.
We would've blown the shofar, calling our brothers to unite and fight
It's all sealed, air-tight.
Their once-bright smiles, now swallowed in pitch black-nights.
You would've waved your currents till our warriors saw the light.
We would've blown the shofar, calling our brothers to unite and fight
It's all sealed, air-tight.
Their once-bright smiles, now swallowed in pitch black-nights.
Never believed you were innocent till the stories were told me.
Whispers and tales of your own rebellion.
Of storms unleashed against the ships that violated your skin.
Of waves rising in silent fury against the blades that carved your surface.
Whispers and tales of your own rebellion.
Of storms unleashed against the ships that violated your skin.
Of waves rising in silent fury against the blades that carved your surface.
We are bound, you and I.
Children of this continent, scarred by shared wounds
We will forever remember.
Our fallen soldiers,
Our fathers and patriarchs.
We celebrate our history
Of strength and a resilient spirit.
Children of this continent, scarred by shared wounds
We will forever remember.
Our fallen soldiers,
Our fathers and patriarchs.
We celebrate our history
Of strength and a resilient spirit.
Theme: History, Water and Slavery