Shadows In An African Jungle. Poem by samuel nze

You say I walk faster than my shadow
And why not
There are too many shadows in Africa
Gloom, defeat, despair
All are in me
But I must transcend them
I must be what I must.
To the African jungle
White enslavers came with gun powder
To shoot me down if I ran
Like a monkey.
I was to go with them in chains
To the Americas.
I was to work their farms
I was to die if I fell sick.
The row-row water turned my belly
In big ocean-going vessels.
I was told to hush hush
Even when I would cry aloud.
When I got to America
They changed my name
Onyenachia is too long
You must bear Samuel.
No problem.
They give me a spade and
I begin to swot
Dig in
Dig out
Oops - are you tired already?
You black man silly -
Crack of the whip
And I begin to swot again
Dig in
Dig out
Work till dusk.
I pray
God I am sick of this
I need you to save me.
And he does.
The white man does no work
But soon he is tired of keeping me
Working for him
So he orders me to leave.
I rejoice
And return to the dark jungle.
To my chagrin
The shadows are still there
Gloom, defeat, despair
All are still in me
But the faces of my brothers are changed
They do not recall me.
Hello?
Even my language is strange
I plead
Shriek
Persuade
Coax
They cannot understand me
I am sick again
Not with row-row water
But with aloneness
I am sick sick sick of it
I pray
God help me
And he does.
Soon I must return to America
But not as a slave
Not as Samuel
But as Onyenachia again
A free man
Onyenachia Munachim.