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The New Ships Lyrics by Kamau Brathwaite

Humboldt Caribbean Lit

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Brathwaite's reading of this poem can be heard on SoundCloud or by opening this annotation
The New Ships1Takoradi was hot.
Green struggled through red
as we landed.
Laterite lanes drifted off
into dust
into silence.
Mammies crowded with cloths,
flowered and laughed;
white teeth
smooth voices like pebbles
moved by the sea of their language.
Akwaaba they smiled
meaning welcome
akwaaba they called
aye kooo
well have you walked
have you journeyed
welcome
you who have come
back a stranger
after three hundred years
welcome
here is a stool for
you; sit; do
you remember?
here is water
dip
wash your hands
are you ready
to eat?
here is plantain
here palm oil:
red, staining the fingers;
good for the heat,
for the sweat.
do
you remember?
2I tossed my net
but the net caught
no fish
I dipped a wish
but the well
was dry
beware
beware
beware
I travelled to a distant town
I could not find my mother
I could not find my father
I could not hear the drum
whose ancestor am I?
I walked in the bush
but my cut-
lass cut
no path;
returned
from the farm
but could not hear
my children
laugh
beware
beware
beware
For now the long hot flint-
locks sing with heat;
fever of quick sales
rot the branches
of bone; blood brands the bird's
full sails and trinkets
sear my flesh. Whose
brother, now, am I?
could these soft huts
have held me?
wattle daubed on wall,
straw-hatted roofs,
seen my round or-
dering, when kicked to life
I cried
to the harsh light around me?
If you should see someone
coming this way
send help, send help, send help
for I am up to my eyes in fear.
3And beware
cried Akyere
do not trust strangers.
In their watery eyes
I see dangers.
Hooks jerk
in their smiles,
lurking capture;
sticks
from their stares
are a dry beach
of sand's pain,
bleaching bones
of despair,
your life's
fear.
Do not trust
strangers
smell the danger:
cassava cooked
skin that the
wind brings;
their sin
stretches like
smoke, dis-
appears in the white
wind, but re-
mains, re-
mains to stain
our truth with its
stench; and when
night comes,
when night
comes, chok-
ing my eyes'
throat, the fire
is drenched
in fright's
phantoms:
sasabonsam
of darkness
where even the deep-
est drum trembles.
So beware
cried Akyere
beware
the clear
eyes, the near
ships, the
cast lines,
sweet cargoes
of promises
beware the steer'd
smiles, their
teeth's rock,
the white
fathoms.
4But our women,
pepper-
eyed, glad to see
strangers, will-
ing to sell
gold, fleshes'
thighs for tin
trinkets, thin
cloth stamped
with flowers;
our elders,
kola-nut-
chewing,
showing
gums stained,
tarnished
with drugs'
greed, love of
profit, for-
got the grey
gods of anger
who warned
against smiling
hands groping
for markets, not
wor-
ship; for-
got the long wars
brought us here
in the gossip
of who pleases
Portuguese
best, sneezes
snuff.
Credits
Kamau Brathwaite

Kamau Brathwaite

About “The New Ships” by Kamau Brathwaite

Read the complete lyrics to "The New Ships" by Kamau Brathwaite from the album "Humboldt Caribbean Lit". On Lyrks you can follow along with the full text, explore the artist's discography, and discover related songs. The track is often categorized under Poetry, Spoken Word, Non-Music.

"The New Ships" is performed by Kamau Brathwaite. from the album "Humboldt Caribbean Lit" This page provides the full lyric text for fans who want to sing along, study the songwriting, or compare versions across releases. Lyrks organizes lyrics by artist and song slug so you can bookmark and share a stable URL. Music lyrics help listeners connect with emotion, narrative, and rhythm in a track. Whether you are learning English, researching a favorite chorus, or preparing for karaoke, having accurate line breaks and section labels (verse, chorus, bridge) makes the experience easier. We link to the official artist profile on Lyrks where available, including biography snippets, top songs, and chart placements when we have that data. If you enjoy "The New Ships", explore more songs by Kamau Brathwaite using the links below. Chart and trending pages on Lyrks highlight what listeners are searching for this week. For copyright or correction requests, see our DMCA and contact pages.

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Frequently asked questions

"The New Ships" is credited to Kamau Brathwaite. Songwriting credits may include additional writers listed on the release; check the credits section on this page for linked collaborators.

"The New Ships" appears on "Humboldt Caribbean Lit".

Visit the Kamau Brathwaite artist page at /artist/kamau-brathwaite for biography, popular tracks, and links to more lyric pages.