No Hope

From the womb to grave
Always a plantation slave,
Freedom he never knew
As hate in his heart grew.

Sunup to dusk every day
He toiled his owner's way,
Back bowed pick 'in cotton
Fed stale food, half rotten.

After one hour of lamplight
Chained to his cot for the night,
Before daylight woke up again
Another day in the fields began.

Whips and chains are his life
Never peace only strife.
He could not read nor write,
That was forbid by whites.

He never felt the love of family
For him there will not be any.
Born as another slaves son
Only God knew which one.

Choices for him did not exist
Only in thought could he subsist.
Ever lost in a world of daydreams
He planned freedom schemes.

Late one starry moonlight night
He broke bonds and took flight.
They caught him at end of day three
And hanged him from nearest tree.

©Written by: Kenneth J. Ellison 02-16-04

Song title: "Nicodemus"

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