Write An Essay On An American Ship

767 Words4 Pages
The conditions on this ship were so different from the sunshine and drumbeats of our home; here, I could not tell if the blood that covered me was my own or if it had come from another. My breaths became the breaths of those nearest to me, my body so close to theirs that there was no end or beginning to us. We were as vast as the ocean that took us even farther away from the games we had played and our mothers’ rich voices singing the stories that had taught us so much. I had heard tales in those songs, tales of darkness and evil. This ship was entirely evil, only darkness. Chains on my wrists connected me to my neighbor, a cousin from Africa. Today is the second day that he has been dead, and the white men have yet to take him away as they…show more content…
I could see another group moving to that area, people with wagons of money, foods, and other goods. If I were able, I would smile at the thought of eating a meal, but smiling was an action of the past. Stopping, our herd of frightened faces met the crew of white men. They ordered us to line up; their words made no sense to me, but hand motions and whippings clarified the instructions. These men, these monsters, walked through us, eyes passing over us like we were a harvest or an animal being considered. It hit me that we were now animals. We had no clothing, no freedom, now understanding. We were trapped within the cage of these horrible people. I was watching the white man take a slip of paper out of a bag and show it to another, both speaking in harsh sounding words. Suddenly, two hands gripped my shoulders; I was torn away from my mother. The chill I felt from her hand leaving mine was immediate. A scream ripped its way out of my chest and for that I received a kick. Tears flowed from both my and my mother’s hollow eye, void of emotion until now. The man holding me pointed to a new group of people. Slave, I heard him say in his tongue. On all sides of me, people were being sorted into different groups, each to go with a pale
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