African Betrayal

First, they arrived with promises cloaked in gunpowder.  
We stood, wide-eyed, entranced by our own reflections,  
Mesmerized by the glittering flashes of their explosives,  
The thunderous booms echoing our naïve delight,  
A symphony of wonder masking the storm to come.  
 
In return, we offered spices to awaken their pallid souls,  
Welcoming them with open hearts, blissfully unaware,  
Of the shadows lurking beneath their polished smiles,  
As we danced to the rhythm of their deceit.  
 
Next, they unfurled a foreign God,  
Their Holy Book waved like a banner of salvation,  
Dismissing our deities—ekwensu and esu—as evil,  
We learned their tongue, our voices twisted,  
Stripped of our essence, yearning to belong.  
 
They painted visions of their golden land,  
Some succumbed, yet many resisted,  
Our chiefs seduced by glimmers of wealth,  
Bartered our heritage for fleeting riches,  
A betrayal echoing through our bloodlines.  
 
In chains, we were led like cattle to slaughter,  
Shackled in the belly of their ships,  
Floating on waters that swallowed our cries,  
My people, resolute, stood firm against fate,  
Their spirits unyielding, hearts ablaze with defiance.  
 
Arms entwined, we sang songs of resistance,  
Refusing to bow to the man without colour,  
Clinging fiercely to our spirits,  
While the storm raged around us, relentless and raw.  
 
So, they came with a tide of bullets and machines,  
Our spirits clashing against their cold steel,  
Yet we were no match for their merciless might,  
Years passed under the weight of their oppression,  
Our voices silenced; dreams buried deep.  
 
They plundered the earth, turning our riches
Into their fortune, while our cries faded to whispers.  
Our chiefs, mere puppets, echoed commands  
From the colourless oppressor, blind to our suffering.  
 
We spoke, desperate to be heard,  
But our words fell like fragile leaves,  
Finally, they listened, yet left us to our chiefs,  
Corrupted by gold, they became no better than them.  
 
So, we packed our dreams, seeking refuge,
In the land of the man without colour,  
Only to find he desired our very essence,  
The heart of our spirit, consenting to that rejected.
 
 
A Poem written by ENYINNAYA