Liberia
I owe you Liberia ,
I owe you
The dreams of these Libertians1
Flocking to their Motherland
I owe you Liberia,
I owe you
The tears of these Libertians singing
Their hopes at the beach of the Motherland
I owe you Liberia,
I owe you
The cheerful hails of the Vai2 fishermen
Welcoming their stepbrothers
I owe you Liberia ,
I owe you
The Lonestar Banner
Sailing for the sky of One People
I owe you Liberia,
I owe you!
My hands are wide-opened
And I’m here
To clear my owing
But
Where is the entrance
Of the palaver hut?
But
What’s this
Frontier of skulls?
But
What do
Balls have been changed into bullets?
But
Lions are battling
In the jungle of our Motherland’s heart
But
The impoverished Sinoe3 slaves
Can’t hear the urging vow
Of your hymn:
Long live Liberia.
Morning crowd,
Silent like a drowsy sea,
Stepping fast,
Often frog-jumping,
Queuing for the fading
Sparkles of life,
(Surviving).
Sun bestowals
Are not their concerns
And coolness of the season
Is despairingly shrouded
By the mist of daily survival.
Evening crowd,
Muscles in pieces,
Sliced brain
Still shadowing
The waning expectations,
(Surviving).
Mind and eyes
Filled with tons
Of demands to the society,
Sentenced to be worrying,
Repeating the chorus of survival.
Child mine
Warmth of my waist
Blessing of my navel
I salute you!
Child mine
Echo of my thoughts
Hymen of my hopes
I salute you!
Child mine
Mane of my efforts
Candle of my doubts
I salute you!
I salute the night of my election
I salute the night of the heaven vote
Who voted me:
The guide of your first steps
Who voted me:
The eye of your first battles
Who voted me:
The loom of your destiny
I salute that home
Where was spelled the first stanza of your life
I salute the bliss
Of the uterus that sit on the egg of your shadow [1]
I salute the lullabies
And lake peace that fill your dreams
I salute the mapan[2]
And noisy sound of your aims
In you I salute
These glances that babble welfare
In you I salute
Those decaying eyebrows
Those chanting dusks
In you I salute
My amulets and my charms
The earths and the stars.
1From the word Liberty which has an important place in the motto of Liberia: The love of liberty brought us here.
2Liberia is divided into fifteen counties. The Vai are from Grand Cape Mount county in the west..
[2] This word, from a local language, has been adopted by all cameroonians and means secret path and all those hidden deeds we do not want our relatives and friends to know about.