Land Ho

I cannot speak the languages

spoken in that vessel,

cannot read the beads

promising salvation.

I know this only,

that when the green of land

appeared like light

after the horror of this crossing,

we straightened our backs

and faced the simplicity

of new days with flame.

I know I have the blood of survivors

coursing through my veins;

I know the lament of our loss

must warm us again and again

down in the belly of the whale,

here in the belly of the whale

where we are still searching for homes.

We sing laments so old, so true,

then straighten our backs again.

Copyright Credit: Poem copyright ©1996 by Kwame Dawes, “Land Ho” from Requiem (Peepal Tree Press Ltd., 1996)