From Gold to Stones

Akosua Nsowah
 
They stood on a vast Earth
Each of distinguishing birth
Their dreams held a common fold
The strive to earn that one gold
And in its endeavor they toiled
For their family, for their friends, for their heritage
But at the awaking of dawn they soon realized
Suddenly abashed and greatly surprised
That they were of differing colors
Of Black, White, Brown and Yellow cultures
And so did the chaos begin
Brutal violence and hatred boiling from within
Their dreams now remained as shadows
The sun no longer penetrating their windows
Their goals shifting from gold to stone
Transforming into missiles thrown in each other’s zones
The lust of conquering arose from once innocent minds
Oppression and slavery plaguing other mankind
Pens and swords were the stage of wars
Acceptance and Harmony became shut doors
Annihilation and Human Wickedness now uncontrollable forces
Insults and Superiority now dominated discourses
The pouring of blood and streaming of tears were renowned anthems
Threats and Death converting into favorite terms
But man’s conscience is like a bright light
That may be dulled in the deepest night
Yet never able to be forever shut out
So when one-day introspection came about
The sagacious suddenly discerning the terrible truth
All were silent as they looked about them as if seeing in the good eyes of the youth
The streets now held the dead bodies of their owners
Black, White, Yellow and Brown
The sick found that there were no organ donors
Stores and Houses were void of humans in the town
The whispering of doom now broke out
Realization seeping into the head of all that looked about
As if now color blinded by the terrible truth and sorrow
As if now attuned by the warnings of tomorrow
The White now comforted the Black
The Brown mourning with the yellow
And as the heavens stood about and glanced below
They shook their heads as though ashamed
For as they looked, they found that Black,
White, Brown and Yellow were all the same.
In a union more significant than mere color:
They each held the most powerful human
instinct of the will of survival
They held emotions, strong and weak
They each lived and died, immortal beings
suffering the fates of racial cliques
And now as they stood on the surface of the
Earth, the sun glinted upon them in a beautiful
radiance.

Moe Penders

 
 
 
 
previous.                                                                                                next.