Exodus
By Courtney Ulerie   
  
Dey bring me here from me land 
Tek me from me family; 
Set me to wok on dem land 
Fill me wid pain an wid misery. 
Sun shine, rain fall; 
I stan' up through it all. 
Dey whip meh an' bran' meh 
An' change meh name; 
They take 'way my chil'ren 
And cause' me pain. 
So I learned they language, 
And I struggle and fight 
And when I get free 
I ran to the light. 
And I learned and I grew 
I teach my children well; 
I teach them so them 
wouldn' go through hell. 
And we all rise up from de struggle 
and fight; 
We won't be trampled on, 
Won't be ruled by de white. 
So...look at us now 
Look how far we have come; 
We can dance to the tune 
We create with our drums. 
And our children had children 
Generations passed on; 
A legacy of greatness 
For them to carry on. 
Contributions in music and science 
and art 
Of literary greatness 
We too are a part. 
We had the King - no not Elvis - 
Martin L. 
Rosa Parks, Eric Williams, 
C.L.R. James as well. 
In the States, in the Islands 
Throughout the world; 
We made footprints in the sand, 
We impacted on souls. 
So I say we have arrived, 
And we're arriving still. 
They brought us here but didn't know 
The strength of our wills 
WE HAVE ARRIVED!

© 2001 Courtney Ulerie