Confused Free Men Poem by DOMINIC PREMPEH

We sang the songs of old
Away from home
Our God-forsaken home

We had deserted this home; unwillingly
Captured; bundled; transported
Farm hands; sex toys; right-less; slaves we had become

The master, once a friend; came trading, felt our weak system and breached it
We succumbed, un-meekly; fighting for our lives and land
But Centuries and decades un-end, He traded in hu-man, with sophisticated aide

Home beckoned on us again; Yes, when freed unwillingly
Property-free; price-less, pride-less free-men we had become
A dramatic return

We sang the songs of old; On our way home
Old songs adulterated with alien lyrics
And we hummed 'all-day' on our way to our long forsaken home

For centuries, we ate the alien’s diet and lived his life
We spoke his language and danced to his rhythm;
We behaved his way and imbibed his religion

We carried mixed feelings, on our way back home
One was hope; the hope of landing on the original land
One was fear; the fear of rejection by our own blood

(June 2006, National Theatre, Accra)