Dark vessels within a vessel
Drift through dark water
In a fate worse than slaughter
Where the sounds of iron clank
Across the plank
And packed bodies in the abyss
Breathe in salt and feces
Bodies beaten by the breeze
Where their blanket is the mist
In which they freeze
And with every breath
Some pray for death
To pull them out of hell
To fly them home
And leave an empty shell
For fortune smiles on those who died
To never know the tale
The deeper thrashing of the hide
That follows every sale
In a black and bleak market
Where men and women are sold
Their heavy hearts worth more
Than their exchange in gold
In the heart of darkness