Advice to Slave Owners
Listen, for I have been consulted by the best;
Roman, Egyptian, Briton, Afrikaner.
Slaves may also listen;
for they will not understand.
That is their nature.
You have entered the slave-quarters by night.
a pastime that has its pleasures,
also it is pervaded with dangers.
You know that the opiates with which we subdue them
can, in the darkness,
encourage them to break out into Bacchic revelries.
You must therefore learn to recognise slaves,
as they have your skin-colour, wear your clothes,
(But, my dears, look at their shoes).
You can, however, tell them by the pride they have
in their chains;
look at their slavish tricks
with credit cards, and mobile phones.
You must always show your superior technologies.
They will produce a gold or platinum card.
Yours must be made from moon rock, and meteorite.
When they talk their slavish talk into their mobile phone,
you must receive a fax on yours
indicating that you have bought their mothers’ street
and have sold it on to be flattened
for the erection of a temple to yourself.
When you find a queue, walk to its head.
When the slaves protest, say
‘Don’t you know who I am?
Don’t you know who I am?’
And they will be cowed,
because their lack of knowledge
is the badge of their enslavement.
Page(s) 35
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