The devil came from the setting sun
We tried to hide, we tried to run
But they found us out and brought us in
And we sailed on the morning tide

Bound by chains and rusted clamps
Filthy water and bloody cramps
One more corpse with a broken heart
Tossed into the swells

Aai yi yi aai yi yi
We can hear our children cry
Watch the stars in the heavens weep
But don't look the devil in the eye

Forty days on a poisoned sea
Reduced by half despite our pleas
Herded off to auction blocks
And sold into slavery

Comes a man in search of souls
Reading from a book of scrolls
He takes us to an endless field
And there we dig more holes

Aai yi yi aai yi yi
We still hear our children cry
Watch the stars in the heavens weep
But don't look the devil in the eye

Years of beatings and hoeing clay
They gave me a wife then sold her away
The day I learned our son was born
I looked the devil in the eye

Aai yi yi aai yi yi
You can kill me but we don't die
There comes a time when man must stand
And look the devil in the eye

Note: a music version of this poem is in the external link. 

© RDBrooks, 2014

Note: Please follow and read the series by @owainglyn called 'Marta'. It's impossible to imagine the horror and fear. Only if the ocean crossing was survived did the real nightmare begin. Slavery remains a huge problem today. It's estimated there are between 12.3 and 30 million people being held as slaves this very minute. The battle never ends.