Off Course
By AW
The slave ship that doesn’t move
Nor never ever set sail
Motionless is it rooted
To the earth with no course
The middle passage of the mind
The children of slaves, no matter how
Many generations removed, are still
Slaves, when the mental chains
Are enforced with illusions of inclusion
Lebron James
Chow lines long and cold, economic foes
The mental sharks fed off of
The mental courses of dead and dying
Cattle dressed in Prada along
Middle Passage route,
On course to make a profit off of
Cargo of Black Gold
Lebron James
In dreams vividly, am I eaten alive
As I sink, thrown overboard
In chains and padlocks as if I am
Going to court on course to make a
Profit for the slave ship that sails
No more.
On the stock exchange
Black gold, Lebron James,
Are shiny Black bodies still
In ball and chains
Thanks to a clause in the 13th
Amendment: still are we
Cattle when duly convicted
Of a crime
On course to make a profit
Of course on this slave ship
That don’t sail no more
Called, not Jesus,
But the
Prison Industrial Complex
In the belly of this complex
Beast I’ve set for over 30 years
Longer than the life expectancy
Of my ancestors who thrown
Overboard, on the middle passage,
In the Atlantic Ocean into the
Cold waves, off course
Wasted profit
Of course.
6 Comments
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The poets featured here are currently incarcerated, and many of them are in federal prisons far from home. Your feedback is a valuable source of motivation and connection to the outside community. Post your comments, feedback, and encouragement in the space below the poem. Messages will be passed on directly to the author. Comments may not appear immediately on the site, as our team processes them to mail to the poets.
Wonderful. Thanks for sharing.
AW,
This is a very powerful poem. I have read your poem 3 times and still I am speechless. Your symbolism and metaphors are so intuitive and your message is strong and genuine. Keep seeking justice. It is your will and your words that make you strong.
Keep writing!
This is a strong story and I really like how you used metaphors throughout. I imagine the prison system as the giant slave ship referenced in the beginning and the justice system profits of it.
I love how you compare the past and present to demonstrate how what is often perceived as growth is often just racism by another name. The comparison of your time in jail versus the life expectancy of slaves forced to cross the Atlantic is chilling. I hope that our country can seize the moment to overhaul the policies that lead to this inequity and institutional racism.
Incredible poem, thank you for sharing! The inclusion of chains & padlocks, and long & cold lines, among all the other vividly described images, really helps to demonstrate what you are feeling. Keep up the great writing!
I love your usage of literary devices in this poem it is very colorful. The message I got from it is one of slavery, mental slavery. It is very true that though slavery of the past has been abolished there is still the residue of mental slavery to be addressed.
“Chow lines long and cold, economic foes
The mental sharks fed off of
The mental courses of dead and dying
Cattle dressed in Prada along
Middle Passage route,
On course to make a profit off of
Cargo of Black Gold”
This portion of your poem subliminally depicts that those in power do feed off those of lower status and thrive off the backs of those below them. It is a pyramid structure, the rich will get richer and the poor will get poorer. We have to emancipate ourselves from mental slavery, know our worth and value, and never let anyone devalue us in society.