In September of 1771

Will found the strength to run away

John Wormeley figured 

He’d get him back

By advertising in the Virginia Gazette

And offering a reward of fifteen pounds

For his property

Really?

Those times are so hard to understand

Men being property

But then I read of drug laws

With such skewed incarceration rates

That you’d think nothing gets smoked, snorted, or shot

In paler parts of the province, so I’m

Wondering how much has really changed

I read about girls being sold into the trade

Or soldiers used in labor camps to build 

The next weapon to gain a warring advantage

And I think

Little has changed

At least in theory

Since 1771

I hope Will made a free life for himself

And I hope MAN learns 

How to treat itself with the respect

We all deserve

So people can stop running