Last Night In My Country
Last night two men killed my brother,
They slashed him and beat him for sport
They struck just as mad animals might resort
To hunting solace in the misery of another
They did it as fake men watched and laughed
They did it as sinners, it was a sin they could pay away
They did it to a father, in the city no children cry today
They did it to a man; they simply tore a world in half
They felt no guilt and no remorse as they held him to that wall
His features were dark, his skin was black
A simple brand showed, in fact
That he was no man at all
-Sau Paulo 1887
Author’s Note: This poem is not about me, I am not now nor ever have I been a slave. I didn’t grow up in a slave family, my father was hardworking and wealthy and my brother wore only the finest clothes and no egregious villain ever clubbed him to death in the street as others looked on. This poem is a story of the ramifications of one prehistoric cruelty we have allowed in this country for so many years. We are the last developed nation to hold onto this pointlessly vindictive practice of slavery, and it is high time that we took an example from the Europeans and our neighbors to the north. We sent these men to fight for us in the Triple Alliance War, and though they fought bravely as men when they returned we did not treat them as men but as gutless scoundrels with fewer rights than a woman or a dog. If we cannot see fit to treat these men as more than mongrels, then so be it, but our continuous reliance on slave labor is an embarrassment in the international arena. Last year, Cuba became the last reasonable country to abandon this practice, and yet we stand here today clinging to it with the very depth of our stupidity. Joaquim Nabuco has fought for abolition with strength and fury and eloquence, but our king has ignored even his most powerful appeals, Princess Isabel has pledged her support but she won’t yet lend her political power. We’ve waited 20 years too long for this change, we can wait no longer. The tide has turned and the day on which the pointless oppression so unique to slavery will no longer be tolerated is fast approaching, shall we be left behind, rutting in the mud as native fools clinging to such a cruel and outdated custom? Let the fools who benefit from this backwards relic of colonial evil be compensated if they beg for it, but we can’t accept a gradual change to these laws of slavery. It must be abolished today.
-Brazilian abolitionist, 1887
But what about the economic stability of the country? Slaves are an excellent investment for labor becasue it only costs bread, water, and an area for them to sleep to keep them alive. Without the slaves we will have to hire workers which will harm our family because of the great increase in costs.
ReplyDeleteThis poem is very moving. The first line, about it being your brother, even though it was not your biological brother, is still very thought-provoking. I see this as your brother in God's eyes, and that we should all be equal. Very motivational.
ReplyDeleteI see these creatures being beaten in the street as though they were animals. Of course, business must go on, and any one pass over insubordinance is a detriment to business running smoothly. However, I sincerely wonder if these creatures are capable of feeling the hardships we observe.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Something has to change. Slavery is cruel and unjust. Why should one country prosper when the lives of those in another country are put into such harm and cruelty?
ReplyDeleteTruly a very inspiring poem that would lead one to fear for their fellow man. This poem proves very well that what is being done to the people that many call slaves is something that should be frowned upon. I hope that many others will read this poem and feel the emotions that I have felt as I read and think about people who we degrade based completely on the color of their skin. It was incredibly moving.
ReplyDeleteTo add more historical grounding to this you could actually talk about some of the policies during that period which invoked the gradual change in other regions (Free Womb laws for example). Also, you could consider addressing the state in which Cuba found themselves in both on the brink of abolition as well as the process and after effect.
ReplyDeleteAnd the poem was a creative idea, i'm kind of confused though why there would be no children crying in the streets? Wouldn't watching their father be beaten result in crying children?