Efficacy for Justice
A Poem in Tribute to Former Chief Justice Johnnie Naustedlau Lewis
By Togba-Nah Tipoteh, PhD
With a name like Naustedlau
No wonder he embraced the Rule of Law
For as Chief of Justice
Struggling to remove Injustice
He looked and stood tall
With no slip and fall
Looking straight as an arrow
Seizing Due Process to follow
He was one person to know
Being a Strong Brain from Sinoe
Bringing wisdom from the East
To render spineless the corrupt beast
That thrives on injustice
While the people thirst for justice
This then is the legacy
Of the Man Johnnie Naustedlau Lewis
Out of the Heritage of Susana Lewis
Bearing Liberia's Flag of Justice
As Liberia's Chief of Justice
My Body is Gold
{Poem to end violence against women}
By: Lekpele Nyamalon
Ever tried to break gold?
With your own bare hand?
Did you feel the stiff?
Would you trade gold for brass?
Or try to sweep it like some grass?
Gold is a precious shiny stone-not a straw
My body –this body you see, is gold
I may be short, small or huge
With my lappa stained with red palm oil
Swamped by crying babies in the kitchen
Or, I may be carrying my bucket,
Filled with pepper, okra, and corn
But with these, I put food on that table
Can’t you see my courage shines like lightening?
I may be walking in mud down waterside
But I smile like the bright morning sun
Does that make me a cow that you beat to move?
Why do you knock me down and gang rape me like hungry thirsty leopards?
Am I sweeter than honey?
And you laugh like its funny?
You are a coward, cruel and shameless
Why do you keep me dirty, barefooted and broken?
Are you afraid of the radiance in my eyes?
Do you fear the glamour of my beauty?
Are you struck by the size of my hips?
Are you intimidated by the glow of my breasts?
Now, hear me young man
This body you beat is gold
Are you a beast, built to beat a woman?
If you’re Hercules, why not jump on a lion in his den?
Is your prowess fixed for women?
But, you don’t know gold
Someday, you’ll see a real man
A man with arms thicker than yours
And chest wide for my body
With voice that vibrates like thunder
And hands stronger than oxen
But, he, like a knight, guards me like a queen
And guess what?
This man, my man, is a real man
Like a miner, he knows gold, even in dirt
And he cleans it up and sets it in a jar
And marvels at the splendor-enjoying his treasure
But, you poor man
You were blinded by a ghost
Never knew the gold you had
And boy, oh boy, when you know this
I’ll flee like a bird and be gone
When it hits your door, you’d be done
Left with your over grown ego
Chained in a cage
Stuck with your rage
Did you think you could dim my bulb?
And blow my lamb
I’ll still be on fire
When we pass you by
Rolling your wheelbarrow on the outskirts of duala
You’ll hide your face behind the mountain’s back
With your torn-out trouseurs, asking in your coloqua-da my woman there?
This face you bruise is gold
This nose you punch is gold
This arm you twist is gold
This leg you sweep is gold
This body, my body is gold.
Salute to the Armed Forces of Liberia
VARNEY L. S. GEAN
Such was that moment they were so despised
Such was the time they had no familiar friend
So dire it was many wished that they vanished
But in time they will unearth their truth bearings
In time they will mount from that era of triviality
Salute to our National Army
Such was the instance many would laugh at them
Such was that time death was greeted with smirks
Awful it was many wished they never ascend again
But in time all that will change for the greater good
In time they will once again be our nation’s pride
Salute to our National Army
The Lieutenants the Generals the Corporals
The Majors the Colonels the Sergeants the Privates
Five stars three stars and all those honors bestowed
Vibrant men and women of our dear motherland
In time we will sing sonnets about their greatness
Salute to the Armed Forces of Liberia
SHACKLED
VARNEY L. S. GEAN
I feel so bordered by revulsion
I feel so bounded by indifference
I feel so enclosed by blasphemies
I feel so imprisoned by humiliation
I feel the aloof eyes staring deeply
Pungent breathes against my cheeks
Infinite hands fervently waiting
To inflict the worst grief I can abide
Few are thus far but it seems so nearer
Some nearness strike the instant fear
Bounded I am will sure suffocate sooner
This draws closer a time I can’t escape
In such moment I ponder for the longest
Questions asked but retorts I bare not
Nevertheless the truth I boldly defend
For being the virtuous persona I truly am
I Saw Liberia Rise
By Lekpele M. Nyamalon
I sat on the top of a tree
And saw the sky blazing with scrapers
Hooping for the skies
I saw lights beaming from the slums of west point
And the corners of rock spring valley to the ghettoes of capitol by pass
I heard the grounds vibrating, making way for the bulldozers
To rebuild our city
I closed my eyes and found a town deep in the belly of the southeast
And found pipes buried under the dirt
Pumping clean water to the shores
I sat from afar and saw kids going to school
Walking in disbelief at the glamour of their city
I sat near a palm tree and looked through my binoculars
And saw roads paved from redlight to Loguatuo
From Buchanan to Greenville
Stretching from Harper to Barclayville
I saw Marshall springing with buildings and birth given to a city
I saw leaders leading with honesty and parents guiding their children
I saw a nation booming with hope
That was my Country, the land of the free
Smiling with passion of a birth renewed
I was there, I saw the light
I saw Liberia rise!
