The Unfinished Civil War: From Slavery to Reconstruction
Part 1: Slavery
This story shall never fade
for it is about the slave trade
I’ll tell you a story about a slave
a nice young fellow, a man named Dave
Akachi was his former name
but white settlers made him tame
but this story starts long before that
in Africa it started with white men and their gat
picture this
a ship you can't miss
approaching the shore
everyone's excited but scared at the core
the white men promised goods
pieces of beads and good smelling foods
In return they wanted african men
a powerful workforce, so then
the white men had three ways to get african men
they could kidnap, or bribe them or lure them like hen
the first strategy was to take them whether they wanted or not
they snuck up behind them and captured without a second thought
so Dave over here was one of the unlucky
he was carried on a ship all the way to Kentucky
on the way there
the black people were treated unfair
they were locked on to a table
even less comfort than a 3 square meter stable
the smell was hideous beyond definition
the people needed a private mortician
the slaves died on the ship
they got torn chip by chip
the sight was painful to the human eye
blood bones and vomit it made Akachi cry
the feel of tight shackles rubbing into his skin
no way you turn, you just can't win
the taste of warm blood spread in his mouth
a thing he wouldn't experience back in the south
the sounds of yelling in pain
it was Dave’s and other slave’s bane
they weren’t fed much but just enough
to keep them going, to stay tough
the journey was bad
the slaves were sad
but the journey was far from over
their chance of freedom is like to find a 4 leaf clover
they were next sent to the auction block
and they were sold like cheap diamond rock
people looked at the slaves like they are trash trash
that can be used to get some quick cash
A rich white man selling slaves to the other
like he was some sort of fairy godmother
Dave was sold to a rich spoiled plantation master
they made him work faster faster and faster
from collecting cotton from little plants
to fastening latches on his master's pants
to do what a slave does requires strength and bravery
America's history, culture and economy are rooted in slavery
the people with the most money
who ate caviar and drank tea with honey
are those who have slaves working for them
are roots supporting a very thick stem
we now explained the event at its core
time to move on to the civil war
Part 2: The Civil War
The African American men
were warriors not chicken or hen
they joined the union army to fight for their independence
they figured it made a lot of sense
lincoln knew that if he threw in the former slaves dream
the slaves will fight for the union’s deem
the union generals didn't trust the slaves
not any Andrews, Scots, Michaels, or Daves
this story is about a former slave named Bob
a strong man not a flob
he went to fight for the union's force
but he had to get through a dreadful course
they got guns ammunition and the right to fight
but they weren't as well treated as the white
they got no shoes or socks
they were treated like rocks
it wasn't a very good condition
but they fought for their part of commission
Bob over here fought with all his might
in his battle he lost an arm and his sight
one eye was the sacrifice that he had made
the first battle they fought, it deserved a parade
so much former slaves died
their mothers have cried
they fought for a reason
some didn't last for the season
the value of leaders impact the decisions they make
fame created power but that power was fake
when a leader was fair
and treated people with care
he was considered a good and wise
and his decisions were approved regardless their size
power comes from fear, fame or goodness
a person lacking bravery and rudeness
is a person who back then had people on his side
he was their mentor, their symbol, their guide
these simple things listed above
every single people love
this made a leader have value that's high
people agreed to the claims of this guy
the decisions that person makes
are approved like chocolate cakes
that wraps up our poem about the slaves at times of destruction
the next poem is about the reconstruction
Part 3: Reconstruction
After the war, Lincoln gave an instruction
and that was to start the reconstruction
the country didn’t know where to start off
but Lincoln had a suggestion that made a depressed slave blastoff
her name was Sanda which meant good luck
also to have finally come and made her awestruck
Lincoln allowed her ‘50 acres and mule’
which made her think that he was really cool
best of all, Lincoln gave her lots of privileges like her freedom
which made her happy that she was part of his kingdom
After a while, everything was great
it went so well she even got her farm straight
she rejoined her family
life was as sweet as candy
she earned money
which made her feel very sunny
oh, it was so nice
it could have been paradise
nothing could do wrong
after all this was lifelong
right?
But no, she was wrong
life wasn’t so simple all along
the truth was so painful, it hurts like knives
after all ‘unresolved issues of the civil war continue to shape our lives’
things started going downhill when Lincoln was ‘put to sleep’
and all she could do was weep
then came the codes of black
which gave her a great big smack
she had to go back to her owner
she was once again a loner
life is so heartbreaking
that it is forsaking
in the present we learned a lot from our past mistakes
our flaws can from a thousand lakes
a valuable lesson we learned from our past
look where you're throwing before the rod is cast
everyone's equal no matter their looks
you can't judge covers without reading the books
so this concludes our our story of our heroes
Sada, Dave, Bob were really just zeroes
these characters were developed to tell you our history
and help you uncover our past mystery
thanks for listening to this long boring speech
and now we will finally reach
and listen very carefully our friend
this is the end
*credits to my best friend from middle school