They say a Diamond never looses its luster (Happy 49th Sierra Leone)

They say a diamond never looses its luster

Mine did and was the more brilliant after regaining its former radiance

What then shall I call my precious stone

How then should I name her

Mined from the depths of colonial exploration

From the transatlantic slave trade to brain drain

Cleansed on the rivers of tears shed by the victims of

sla, ruf, people’s army and  kamajor abuse

Cut on the backs of students and trade unions

Faceted from its many peoples

The mountain krios and the swampland mendes

the many Temnes and the resilient Limbas

The Industrious Fula and the roving mandingos

The Lokos, Konos, Korankos

Sherbros, Susus, Yalunkas and Vais

Polished by the hands of child soldiers and their elders

From January 6 to June 6

May 25 to May 8

Spot shined with the blood of heroes and villains

Foday Sankoh and Maskita

Hinga Norman and Johnny Paul

Madam Yoko and sengbeh pieh

Breaking the monotony of the process by singing

Bai bureh was a warrior

he fought against the british,

the british made him  surrender,

he halla koto mamu

All the time keeping hopes bright for a dazzling brilliance

With a national shout for Jesus

Emanating from heroes and villains alike

Watch the decrease in dazzling brilliance

Corrupted by shades of woo teh teh green and osai-owai red

But she shone bright once more

With the strong elbow grease augmented by

ogaman, green beret, special forces and executive outcomes

Becoming all the more stronger for it

Stronger even more than the vinegar dissolved pearl concocted by Cleopatra

A tiny speck blemish free

Strong enough to bear our burdens,

As unique as rubbery Reed

Whose pliable hands encircle us in its warm embrace

As powerful as a mother's kiss wiping away pain effortlessly

A woman's best friend? No doubt

But much more than that, my crush

Always appreciated

like the cries of 

"kol wata de,

kol wata de

kol wan, kol wan"

in the middle of June

forever the strongest

yet with colors supple

softer than the double mounds

of loma and bintumani

More beautiful than the vitality gained by a virgin cherubim,

 Back arched,

Toe curled,

Eyes star filled

From the kiss of the rising sun

Its color fiery alive

As If the sun

fell in love with the stars

Took them on a romantic walk in the Milky Way

 Dressed in solar plumes

I extol her beauty

Until my mind is crystal

And my quill runs dry

And for that I will still call her my diamond

Because like the Greeks intended when naming a diamond

She overpowered all obstacles

And tamed all negative aspirations

To stand now bright,

Showing forth her good.

Long Live our Sierra Leone and happy Independence Anniversary to all her children.

Clean Up the World {Sierra Leone, 1995/1996}...Mr Mason

Sierra Leone is our home and together we must strive
for a better cleaner brighter home tomorrow
and sierra leone will be our home when together we all strive
for a better cleaner brighter home tomorrow

yes we can make it when we care enough for the living
when we dip our hands
in the street and the lanes
make it clear

Live a better way
when we learn to change this while situation
just look around you
there's work enough to be done
when we start to clean just you and me.

And our god will give a smile on this great change we have made,
the moon and stars and the sun will guide us all the way
and everyone great or small in this little land of ours
will have to grow and live in a better day

yes we can make it if we care enough for the littering
when we clean our homes
and we clean our schools
make it right

live in a better day
and make sierra leone a healthy nation
just look around you
there's a lot enough to be done
when we start to clean just you and me.

Why I am Black...

I can say with a Great degree of certainty, when I became black.
The steps to been a member of the black family although never planned have been the most significant that I have ever taken.


Drawn by an intellectual appeal, enticed by a translation of intentions to actions, lured by the promise of the acquisition of better oratory skills and seduced by the charisma of members of the black family, my joining that body is one of the easiest and most logical decisions I have ever made.


So Pardon me…don’t let my actions surprise you for I am, have always been and will always be black, hence my proclivity to seek first the political kingdom. That has always been part of the black political creed.


You see, I can make as persuasive an argument to been born black as I can to been black as a matter of choice. Those who do not know about us have labeled us with certain tribal and socio economic demographics. I am proof of their ignorance. My convoluted history of been both a “krio boy” and a “mende borboh” proves that I and the black family transcends any label that we have been tagged with.


When some were yelling that membership is primarily cultic, my firsthand experience taught membership was an introduction to a family of mentors and great inspirations, a family that always seeks justice while aspiring to greater heights in education. When the uninformed yelled that belonging was unnecessary, the necessity for political participation was inculcated in me by the family, teaching me above all else that political participation should not be limited only to elections. When the voice of the opposition arose, the family taught me that opposition voices are just the frustrations of the minority with the success of the majority and the minority should not be begrudged that access.


Today I am confident enough in my black ideology to identify myself as above all been a black man, because among the primary tenets of the black ideology is a recognition and protection of the dignity and value of human life and relationships.


You see I will always be that double threat. Born black in the valleys of kailahun town in the previous millennium and then reborn again black without the intermission of death, on Mount Aureol in this new millennium.


Long Live the black family and all those who bear its interests at heart.