A father betrayed his daughter
Told her to climb aboard a slave ship and he left her there
Promised to pray for her safety but his soul was already burning
And as soon as she climbed aboard that slave ship
The angels left her side
And she was surrounded by the demons of her future
Pulling, tugging, biting, sniffing, pushing into her innocent country over and over and over again
Until she bled
Until she couldn’t weep
Until her prayers became choked up in her throat
… And in every slave owner’s house
She felt the betrayal of the man who was supposed to protect her
As these slave owners soiled her country with their dishonorable discharges
She thought of the man who was her father
The same man who used to kneel down to pray with her to Allah for better days
It was as though
Her father was already praying for the strength and resiliency of her soul
For the things she would have to endure
In her sons
Instead of raising fathers and protectors of their women and young
She raised men who are quick with their hands and sharp with their tongues, she raised masters
And in her daughters
Instead of raising mothers, lovers, nurturers
She raised slaves
A father betrayed his daughter
Told her to climb aboard a slave ship and he left her there
Sold her for pieces of fish and some cornbread
To feed his sons
Because sons…
Are more valuable than daughters
Patience LABANE is a poet born and raised in the Free State. She holds two poetry slam titles. She’s a writer, a poet, a visual artist, and a vocalist. She is currently working on a Pan-Africanism book with Howard University. She’s part of the Radioactive collective that recently traveled to Malawi to attend the Tumaini Festival at the Dzaleka refugee camp. She is also completing her BSc degree at the University of the Free State.