[Poem] Slavery

People's reaction and stances with regard to slavery always echoes political correctness. But we can hardly begin to imagine the stark reality and the extreme inhumanity of this curse on mankind. The film 12 Years a Slave brought the plight of slaves to centre stage. It is one of the most moving films that I have seen in recent times.This poem was inspired by the film.

                                                                    Slavery 

Beaten into implicit submission,
Men, subjected to constant tyranny,
Women, stripped and brutalized,
Children, torn from a mother’s arms.
Mute spectators to barbarity each day,
Anesthetized to their own, and another’s pain,
Deprived of dignity,
Sold and resold like bonds,
Bound by endless bondage,
Each day – a palpable Hell,
Each night -a waking nightmare,
Where death becomes the highest hope...
This is slavery – Mankind’s greatest Shame…

What gives one race the right over another?
What gives one man absolute power?
How does a heart grow stone cold?
How can Human spirit
Be lauded in one,
Derided, in another?

Political doublespeak declares slavery's death.

But,
can slavery ever die?
Can the human heart ever be rid of its desire for dominion?
Can mere indignation
Purge the soul?
Can learning, and belief
Tame the power hungry monster that lurks within us all?
 Each day is witness to new forms of tyranny,
New means of exploitation.

Slavery shall live on
as long as there is will to exploit, deceive, intimidate...
Slavery shall live on,
 where human dignity is devalued
 slavery shall live on,
in the persecution,
 in the exploitation of the poor,
the disadvantaged,
the voiceless,
the innocent,
and the tame...