THE OUTHOUSE

Photo (c) emayges 2022. Hydel Great House, Trelawny, jamaica

There was always the odd one
The one who smiled the broadest
Laughed the loudest
Bowed the deepest
And jumped to do every task
The Massa ordered….

There was always one of them
Who pushed and shoved his enslaved
Brothers and Sisters
Helping Massa keep them in line
And the first to tell Massa
Who stepped out of place

We called him Uncle Tom
Tom the fool
Tom the clown
As he made sure to dress like Massa
To signal to his fellow brothers and sisters
That he was in charge
That he was Massa to them
That he was Massa’ favorite

Favored enough to sleep in the Outhouse
The Outhouse where Massa
Took his slaves virginity
Man or Woman
He didn’t care.
The Outhouse was the
House of tyranny
The house of sodomy
The house of suffering
And Uncle Tom delighted himself
To lay his head
And closed his eyes
Forgetting what happened there

The Outhouse of destruction
The Outhouse of Sodom
The Outhouse of decadent power
Stands alone in the cane fields
Anchored in time
And the stench of morbid slavery
Whipped by the ever-flowing winds of change.

(c) 2022. All Rights Reserved. Seti