That Was Our Last Day of Freedom on the Plains - Sam Lu (original)

That was our last day of freedom on the plains
These lonely autumn trees are shedding their leaves
Our freedom drifted away like the dead leaves when Fall reigns

Oh, how they creak and groan in pain
Those lonely crooked trees that no longer rustle in the breeze
That was our last day of freedom on the plains

Before the day we were caught and cuffed in chains
And sent adrift, caged in those cramped ships of disease
Before our freedom drifted away like dead leaves when Fall reigns

We used to hunt and run in the warm loving autumn rains
But autumn rains here only freeze
That was our last day of freedom the plains

If only that day would come again
I would have said goodbye and showed the children the seas
But our freedom drifted away like dead leaves when Fall reigns

And it was sold off in the Land of the Free for their capital gain
Back home those twisted lonely autumn trees grieve
That was our last day of freedom on the plains
Our freedom drifted away like the dead leaves when Fall reigns


This is a villanelle I wrote. It fits with my theme because of the autumn imagery. It follows the rhyme scheme of a standard villanelle, aba aba aba aba aba abaa, though a few rhymes are imperfect rhymes. It follows no meter, but at times I attempted iambic pentameter. Thematically, it deals with the loss of freedom for slaves coming in from Africa to America. The leaveless autumn trees stand as a symbol of the empty family trees caused by the slave trade. There was a repetition of a hard c sound throughout the second and third verses to create a feeling of abruptness and unease.