My Slave Ancestors

By Amesha Forward
Lake Charles, LA.

From motherland by ship
To master's heavy grip
On each chain and whip
While working tender fingertips
From dusk till dawn
Each day is long
Achy and sweaty palms
Until the harvest is gone
Through rain or sleet
Stay on the feet
Until time to eat
Or go back to sleep
Many of them may
Not like it this way
And as scared prey
Try to run away
Which is a big mistake
That determines the fate
One is all it takes
An example is made
Rain or shine
They find a vine
And tie the line
For an ancestor of mine.

***

You Want to Be in a Gang
By Amesha Forward
Lake Charles, LA.

You want to be in a gang
But you don't know slang
You don't have a nickname
And your pants don't hang
You don't know the game
Your parent's phone rang
You're either beat-up or slain
Or in shackles and chains
It'll be a matter of time
Before you commit the crime
Selling a couple of dimes
Can't get to your prime
So you cheat and lie
Striving for cloud nine
Now blood is in your eye
You're traced by a line
Everyone is gone
Your crew; your own
Not even a soul
And the cement is cold
Life ends this way
Remember now today
Think before you say
You want to be in a gang.

***