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Stephen Yaya Mansaray was born in Sucta village on the Lungi Peninsula. He did most of his schooling in Lungi, but attended the Ahmadiyya Muslim Secondary School in Freetown, St. Augustine Secondary School in Lungi, and St. Francis Secondary School in Makeni. He began writing poetry in 1990. |
We come to you,
From family and friends,
From strong long bonds,
From warmth and comfort.
We come to you,
Though we know not what you offer
With wide open hands,
We await what you've got.
We come to you,
Wholeheartedly without reservation,
For in you is knowledge found,
Anticipated knowledge and more.
We come to you,
Guinea pigs, baits, robots,
That's what we are,
For your gratification and glory.
We come to you,
Humiliation, intimidation, exploitation, hunger,
And more we suffer,
No better exchange for regrets.
For where there are regrets,
Knowledge has been gained,
Would have been better we had not come,
Better still we came.
My brother, why did you do this to me?
What brought this scheming to your mind?
Who directed your plans?
Do you realise how much you've hurt me
Where are all my labours?
All my strives, where are they?
Did you close your eyes so that you will not see?
Shut your ears so that you will not hear?
Or did you hear and never listened,
Or saw and never perceived?
You saw all my works,
And never realised how much I tried to accomplish
them.
You heard me sing in happiness,
But never did it move you,
Because you are a stone not a man,
A mountain, not flesh and blood.
Why did you do this to me, my brother?
To throw me out of the scene
Like an abandoned car,
To send me out of my dwelling,
Like a banished criminal,
To treat me with contempt,
Like a condemned prisoner!
Treat me the way one does rubbish,
Like Jesus thrown out of Jerusalem gates!
Look how far you've been from me!
Look how far our thoughts go from each other!
It has not been long, yet we're far from each other
Only few hours, yet there exists a gap,
A gap difficult to bridge.
Why did you do this to me, my brother?
Do you not have your faults like everyone else?
Why do you condemn me because of my faults?
Have you been the perfect one,
Condemning me while you yourself are condemnable?
Haven't you realised how much
I am out of mood?
Out of your love and hence God's love?
Because you made me feel jealous,
Because you made me see your deceit.
I have my faults like everybody else
Some you do notice,
Other you do notice but do not pay heed to,
But this you notice and let me quit!
Why did you do this to me, my brother?
Why did you ever have a thought like this?
Your scheming has been revealed,
And the knowledge concealed.
This will leave a scar on my face,
My heart, my mind,
My whole self,
Why did you do this to me?
It is not a mistake
Just because it is causing someone an ache
When you have got a decision to take
Someone has got a mind to make.
Your proof of freedom
The show of subjection to your thraldom
Should remind you that what is freely given
Can be freely taken.
Choice depicts alternatives
They are all derivatives
You looked for prospect
I sought respect.
If you insist
I cannot resist
If you change
I cannot but match the challenge.
It is not giving up
It is facing up
It is not resignation
It is avoiding stagnation
It is not lack of gratitude
It is fostering the right attitude
It is not letting go of allegiance
It is embracing what is left of the alliance
It is giving up in order to face up
Resigning in order to take up
No contradiction in diction
Only a contravention of convention
It is over,
The joyful pains of birth,
Like a ship at berth
The end of a long journey.
It is over,
The unexpected revelation,
Of hopes towards the sky,
That falls below the sea.
It is over,
The energy-consuming task of preparation,
To face the altar,
Of commitments weighed against heart's desire.
It is over,
The flamboyant honeymoon,
Spent in comfort and luxury,
A once-in-a-lifetime celebration.
It is over,
The unending payables,
Of toil for the brow,
Of show meant for the eyes.
It is over,
The wild passing hurricane,
The dancing trees with their song,
To test the strong and fell the weak.
It is over,
The excitement of the new,
Of knowledge of the unknown,
The new that will be old.
It is over,
The hovering whirlwind,
Of dust that belongs elsewhere,
'Down ', calls gravity.
It is over,
The last breathe,
The last rites,
The earth swallows its own.
Behind closed doors
Bombarded by 'odours'
Things happening within
Separated by walls paper-thin
Oblivious of happenings in the world outside
A world without a clue of happenings inside
Yet with the odours' heat
I will, with it, hit
'Cause from it, all originates
Fair enough if to it, all designates
In me I have you,
So dear world, you can have me too
For that is the order -
That we belong to each other.
One-minute silence
One seemingly a trance
A year's remembrance
Of sin too heavy on our conscience.
Reminiscences of a great crumble
Of two grand towers
That left lots in the rubble
And pain that was to last hours.
Trapped occupants were not your only victims
Though you did not bother
About the fire fighting teams
I think you crossed the border
Giving the world a wake-up call
A food-for-thought for all.
Face the world
With all its ills
Let go of your hold
Come down from your hills
Many have attained
With little aid
You too can just try
With a trusting eye
For there in One greater
A plan better
So even if you do not seem to gain
What you set out to attain
You are still a hero
In the eyes of those who know
Waiting, aching, longing
With body, mind and soul
For the sound of a ringing
The feel of your sole
Longing to hear your voice
Waiting to be reminded of your poise
You know what I mean
Please don't be mean
I wonder where you are
And if you are aware
That someone out here
Longs to touch your hair
The hour is past
And several more elapsed
Please give me a call
And reclaim my all