SEVERAL HUNDREDS OF YEARS AGO

Picture Courtesy: www.americainchains2009.wordpress.com


Several hundreds of years ago,
If I managed tether you to a tree,
I would then go on to trade you for
Cowries,
Pans or
A bottle of schnapp.


Several hundreds of years ago,
Men in groups,
They would raid villages,
Taking away with them,
Those they managed capture
As slaves.


Several hundreds of years ago,
Huge ships came ashore,
With them came strange looking men,
In search of other men,
To do their washing,
Cleaning,
Farming
And any other menial chores that came to mind,
We were more than happy to oblige.


Several hundreds of years ago,
A master’s chattel,
His slaves,
A measure of his wealth,
Slaves,
A commodity far precious,
Than salt and other mercantile goods.


Today,
The slave trade’s been long abolished,
The very act of slavery,
Frowned upon and declared abomination,
Yet,
Several hundreds of years ago,
The world endorsed the slave trade,
Several hundreds of years ago
Human beings traded off other human beings,
For as little as gunpowder and muskets.


So I ask today,
Where was our sense of right and wrong back then?
What really makes things right or wrong
In a human society?
Does society require an act be wrong only if fewer
People engage in it?
Does society endorse acts based solely on the
Numbers engaged in it?
Several hundreds of years of years ago,
Only heaven knows,
I just might have exchanged you for a glass of water.