Take me to the high desert where the Sierras touch the sky.
Beside my tent an ice cold creek hastily rushes by.
Above me a thousand stars mesmerize the eye.
The jagged mountains come alive as the sun rises in my eye,
Casting a reddish glow on the earth below a golden sky.
Out of nowhere a roadrunner comically passes by.
The Alabama Hills beckon from a dusty trail close by.
Two crows call noisily from a tree and look me in the eye.
After a lengthy conversation, they fly off in a cloudless sky.
I marvel at the sunset, below a crimson sky, captured by my camera's photographic eye.
May, 2002
for the first time in a decade
Sierra Leone slept
without fear.
The night was strange
almost unfamiliar.
Silence returned
like a forgotten friend.
No cities burning
No parents running
No children crying
for names lost in smoke.
Just deep stillness
so pure and sacred
even the stars
seemed to fall asleep.
No one knew that ’91 would come
that it was our turn
to taste the bitter pot
passed from our near neighbours.
Five years before
Dad had found Mom
young, laughing, full of tomorrow
their dreams wrapped in silence.
A year later, I arrived
just four years before the fire
the one that swallowed a nation
and first rose blazing in the east.
You see, I was born
between the silence of ’87
when Sierra Leone knew no gun
and the fire of ’91.
"I seem to find the happiness I seek
when we're out together dancing cheek to cheek." ~ Irvin Berlin
"I seem to find the happiness I seek
when I'm atop a Sierra Nevada mountain peak." ~ by poet
The time for our annual camping trip is here.
My brothers and I - none of us can wait
for these two summer weeks each year.
We wake up early and hit the interstate.
Still dark, we see the amazing desert sky -
nature's breathtaking, starry slate.
The sunrise over cactus meets the eye,
above, a majestic California hawk
soars in the smog-less, clear blue sky.
Arriving in the mountains, it's time to walk.
We'll hike to a flowing crystal creek,
and hear the silence - there is no need to talk.
We will find the happiness we seek,
standing on a Sierra Nevada peak.
Of spires of timbers tall,
mountains in the beauty of ancient.
The eagle’s flight takes my earthly breath,
as Native American spirit tales whisper
in the cool misty valley.
Lakes blue mirror the changing clouds,
sunlight dapples gold in the pine straw,
the deer with their grace.
I see my children the howling wolves,
their gray shadows loping through the
forest with their young.
Lumbering grizzlies dine on berries,
their cubs curious climbing a small
tree.
A hum of honeybees bobbing on
blooms.
Sierra Club is made up of so many
environmentalists to heal the
hurting earth.
Another generation joins in the cause
of her survival and a love for her.
The afternoon becomes a purple and
pink twilight,
crickets begin a starry song rising so
eloquent,
as the bats welcome night’s hunting,
with a whoosh of myriads of wings.
Thank you, Sierra Club,
this senior is proud to be a member. ~
Everyone was in joyous mood
Sails smiling full
Rocking the giant sea
Believing freedom was near.
Then a rudder broke
One sailor’s knot gave way
The sails tore
Unable to hold against the cracks.
The ship plunged.
The Captain sat satisfied
In his cabin
Blind to the looming danger.
Alas! What can we do?
One sailor cried
“We are sinking!
Fetch the Captain!”
I may be hooked on kush
my body bruised and worn
wandering the streets of Freetown
but I’m a Sierra Leonean too.
I may not pay my taxes
can’t even clean a gutter
but this land is still my home
I’m a Sierra Leonean too.
I may not make decisions to sell state companies
or pass laws for pregnant girls in school
but I carry this country’s name
I’m a Sierra Leonean too.
So if I don’t snatch your phone
don’t break the locks to your home
reach for me, teach me to see
there’s more to life than kush alone.
Sierra had a tiger in the kitchen
A raccoon lived in her sink
Her arms were always itching
Mite-infested, a heavy bumpy pink
She was allergic to her pets and pests
But they still slept in their cozy nests
Brutus, an orangutan was a character
He ate her marmalade with intentions pure
Sydney her rat snake often slept on her head
I always tiptoed softly when I got to her bed
She had chimps, horses and giraffes in her house
Spiders, vampire bats, a beetle and one mouse
Sierra had formerly had many rats in the past
But not anymore because they multiply so fast
Does she have bunnies? A friend asked me.
Last I heard, she was up to one hundred and three.
When dark shadows of war fell
And cries of anguish rang like bells
Streets stained, the skies of Sierra Leone torn
The hope of this nation was lost and gone.
Through those dark clouds, a light arose
A force for peace, worries deposed
ECOMOG came with a mission crystal as clear
To drive away the reign of fear.
Through jungle paths and smelly streets
They battled on, defying defeat
With every step and with every stand
They stitched together a broken land
This is the power of unity, you see—
An African brother lifting another free.
One finger alone can't lift a stone;
It takes a union to build a home.
Kush is both a lover and a monster
Capturing the hearts of our youth.
Its eyes, as deep as the night and bright as stars
Hold secrets of passion and unspoken truths.
With a touch that sends shivers down the spine
It suffocates the soul into delirium.
Its voice, a haunting melody
Whispers promises and fears alike—a lullaby of sweet agony.
Draped in a velvet cloak of desire
It prowls the landscapes of dreams
Leaving traces of warmth and damage
And claw marks of yearning on Sierra Leonean youth.
This creature, born from the wild storms of the heart
Is a keeper of boundless affection
A distributor of heartache
A beast of love that devours our youth.
O Sierra Loa, the mountain of lions
A land of thy free, O native land.
A symbol of God's majestic hand
A nation so small yet peaceful and grand.
Beneath your ever clear sky
Merry mountains and gay valleys lie.
Home to air that touches hearts far and wide.
For you my song and hymns will always bide.
Your rivers, your vast and wide seas
As blue as the eyes of lion mountains
Flow like the taps of royal fountains.
The beauty of you my eyes will always see.
Oh native land, my home, my heart
In you I found the courage since the very start
To wave through the storms of our gloomy past.
The love in you, o native land, all my worries I cast.
He ran to the mountain.
They were arguing again.
This time it rained
warm, covering him
the way she should have
but yelled instead
at father.
When the steam stopped
rising from the ground
and the sun’s bleed
lessened
he walked back
past the tire shop
the old dog barked at him
and then stopped.
He came in the back door.
She had made tamales
and he was eating
quietly by himself-
The battle over.
He sat and ate too
and saw his future-
The mountain, the rain
the mist, the steam
And the silence
that comes after.
In the forest, where shadows play,
An orchestra of life, in the light of day.
Leaves whisper secrets in the gentle breeze,
Nature's song, among the swaying trees.
Lush green meadows, where flowers sway,
Painting the landscape in colors gay.
Birds in flight, their melodies sung,
Nature's beauty, forever young.
Mountains tall, touching the sky,
Guardians of the land, standing high.
Rivers flow, carving their own way,
A journey of time, with each passing day.
Sunset hues, painting the horizon bright,
A masterpiece of colors, a breathtaking sight.
Stars above, shining so bright,
Guiding us through the darkest night.
Nature's beauty, a treasure so dear,
A wonderland for us to be near.
In its embrace, we find our place,
A part of the world, in awe and grace.
The gifts of nature, so pure and clear.
For in its magic, we find our true home,
In the wild wonderland, Sierra Nevadas where I roam.
We harboured a dream
Believing freedom would bring us joy
We sought to liberate ourselves
From the shackles of colonial reign
Freedom arrived, vast and unrestrained
To our prayers God answered
"So help me God, so help me God,"
He endowed us with the spirit to persevere.
He fortified us to navigate
Through civil strife and turmoil
We triumphed over Ebola, COVID we defeated
Yet, why do we lament over Kush?
Where did we go wrong?
How did we evolve into a fractured nation
Polarized in beliefs and thoughts—
What happened to the melody of our anthem?
Where is the love we pledge?
Do we still serve her faithfully?
Bad, worse and worst we grow, oh poor Sierra Leoneans
We seem to know our rights, but honestly we do not;
Instead we misunderstand them:
How can we fight for our rights against one who defends them?
Our situation is escalating to its peak.
We are damn harming ourselves, and not the upright man!
How folly is this thought:
To wander about the street in the name of demonstration?
For I tell you: we are destroying our little development.
If ethics would permit me to speak,
We are not prudent to do such!
And you, Mr. upright man,
You ought to patronage your people
In their impediments and hardship;
And not to add to their problems.
Uniform men, control your frigging weapons!
You were not employed to murder
But to defend and secure.
In all, we are all guilty—
None is exempt!
Let us be mindful about our country's future.
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