Declaration

He has 

              sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people



He has plundered our



                                             ravaged our



                                                                   destroyed the lives of our



taking away our­



                                 abolishing our most valuable



and altering fundamentally the Forms of our



In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for

Redress in the most humble terms:

                                                                Our repeated 

Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury.



We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration

and settlement here.



                                    —taken Captive



                                                              on the high Seas



                                                                                             to bear—

Copyright © 2018 by Tracy K. Smith, from Wade in the Water. Used by permission of Graywolf Press. All rights reserved. www.graywolfpress.org.