Name Of Owner Poem by Kim Barney
Name Of Owner
I found some birth records
for the State of Virginia,
in the year 1862.
The heading of one column reads:
Father's Name in full
if Child be free
and born in wedlock,
or Name of Owner
if Child be born a Slave.
My heart cried
at the inhumanity
of man to man.
Some of the names
in this column
are those of women
(the slave owners) .
How heartbreaking it is
when a person can't even have
his father's name
on his birth certificate.
This is indeed heartbreaking. Thank goodness slavery was finally abolished here, yet there are places in the world where it is still done.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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12/23/2025 10:43:22 PM # 1.0.0
A superb observation, and expression of the brutal sadness that life often is; we need to ensure such horror never repeats itself. Thanks for reminding us to be ever aware of the evils that lurk throughout every generation. To overcome it, we must look directly at it, as you've done here.
Smoky, I sincerely thank you for your astute comment.