Those who passed from this door
Were negroes
With centuries-old ethos permeating
Their swarthy bodies.

This door
(The door of no return)
Opening on to an ocean
Was the gateway to
The Brave New World of slavery.

A return journey
Was only a scintillating dream
Reflected in the eyes of
The multitude of skeleton-like bodies
Aboard the sea-going vessels.

This door
On the shore
Now admits the white masters
Who pass with reverence
Recalling the bygone ages of their tyranny
But perchance forget
that Africa
Will shine like the rising sun of the
Brave New World.


Poem by: Naseer Ahmed Nasir,1995.
Translated from Urdu into English by Dr. Satyapal Anand.
Copyrights (C) All rights reserved.

Naseer Ahmed Nasir

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