Have you heard the decree
That you were made free?
You were made free two
Years ago and your masters knew
But they kept your freedom a secret from you
To continue to get you to toil and labor
Because your sweat was in their favor.
They fought to keep you enslaved
And were enraged
That they had lost the Civil War
And were sore
And peeved
That you might leave.
Without your power
Their fortunes would dry up that very hour.
Because they would have to do their own work:
A work
They were unskilled and too few to do.
So yes, they kept your freedom a secret from you.
But on this day, June 19, 1865,
The message of freedom has reached the last enslaved people
still alive.
Now that you know you are free.
Go forth and achieve equality!
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