Slavery

Author's note - this poem is about slavery through a slaves mind.

Why oh why
Everyday I work ‘til I hurt
From sunrise to sunset.
In the coldest morning to the hottest noons
I work so hard
Yet still they say to do more
They force my wife and kids to work
Breaking their bones with whips
Leaving scars for all to see
Only because we are different
We are black and they are white
Oh how I wish to run
But run I can not
For the captured are beaten
I could die
But do they care
No, they would just buy another
What can they say
The cotton and tobacco must be picked
To get the money they carve so much
Then make themselves pigs
With the food, they never work for
The food that we worked so hard to get
They give us barely any clothes to wear
Or shelter to live in
Try to steal food
And you will be beaten
There are no friends in their kind
They have no hearts
They have no mercy
They only have misery
In this life they give us no hope
To me it’s not even a life
It’s not worth living for
But why
Why do they beat us
Why do they hate us
What did we do
We do as told
How are we so different
A color does not matter
Why are we taken from our homes
Our family, friends, and lives
When they are not
Why can’t they work
They have good legs and arms
Why is the South so mean
And the North so kind
I hope there will be a time
When change will come
When we will be freed
When we are no different then them
When we are treated as one
When we are helped