I am from nice, peaceful, calm wilderness.
Circular huts with straw roofs and one strong stick to keep my house from falling down.
13 other huts surround me.
Wide open spaces
Jungles where lions and leopards wait for the perfect moment,
To strike the livestock that I protect with my life
Mother, Father
Sister, Brother
Grandmother
Green and brown grass hold the feet,
Of the people that have raised me
I am Kabagambe



I am now from chains
Clicking around my wrists as I thrash violently
My own screams tune out anything else
White men and black men alike, looking with amused eyes
At my body that lay on the ground
Exhausted from my struggles
They whip me to make sure I’m through with my rant.



Swaying, swaying
Endless swaying
I feel as if it shall never end
Darkness engulfs me
Sick and scared Africans are like an endless sea around me
Some people I know
As I shiver in the dark,
sleep finally overtakes me


A cage
The people from the months before
Cower
Scared
One by one whites roughly take us by our hair
Push us to a wooden platform
3 or 4 men come to us wearily, poking and prodding us
Seeing our teeth and picking through our hair
Like a dog show



I am in a small barn
Or so it seems
It would be bigger if 20 or more “slaves”
Weren’t huddling in shame
Hungry
Square walls next to me
Dirt underneath my feet
A large triangle above me



Outside
Long grass
A large house
The master’s house
Master Robert Williams
Spouse to Mistress Williams



Work
Hot,scorching sun melts my back
Grass and Beets are all I can smell
I work until dark
Until supper
OW!! I scrape the gigantic splinters from the wooden rakes and hoes
Sweat
Pouring down my face
I sing until I am satisfied



My family is now
Master Robert and Mistress Williams
The slaves and Obadiah the slave driver
I hope I don't get whipped today
I hope I can leave soon
I am no longer Kabagambe
I am Amos Williams