Hope at Last
Born into this life,
I knew not of any strife.
My mother just held me,
Never wanting to leave me.
I knew not why,
I just always heard her cry.
Then the day came,
And it was my turn to live in pain.
I left for the fields,
Working until they gave me yield.
I was beaten and whipped,
Starved and cruelly tricked.
I dreamed of flying away,
But knew the only choice was to stay.
As I almost gave up hope,
I soon found a way to cope.
People stood for a change,
And fought a war that came to name.
The Civil War it became,
And nothing was ever more the same.
Guide that inspired this poem: