The melodies are different but the pain is the same The struggles felt were unprecedented as the scars can even be seen today. In reflection, no one gain Triggered by greed, hate, and malice, they claim, the perpetrators, united by the carnage of evil they killed, maimed, and raped Triggered by hope, peace, and courage the victims, shed unrelenting tears united by the quest for survival as survival was their only escape. What unites them again? The violent struggle they went through.

A Poem written for the Global Shaper, Philadelphia Hub Anthology Collection on life during Covid-19 pandemic. The Shape I’m in I’m uncertain, yet hopeful Indeed, I can only be knowing times are strange, such as those we live in I can only hope things were different but how different? …

We speak about rights but frowns on its responsibilities We seek social change but are unwilling to change ourselves We want freedom But forget it is not absolute We dream of a peaceful world but yearns for instruments of war We decry the status quo but supplements its agency We want God to intervene but our desires are erasing His values Sadly, most would say it is controversial Courageously, I would say it is the truth The truth where: when everything is a human right nothing is!

The queues are long and their hopes are high with the nation’s economy on its knees to foreign agencies and unemployment of its population sky high we should all be wary; we should all be alert. For many in Sierra Leone, this recycling process offers hope and optimism, but delivers disparity and uncertainty. With each passing elections brings a chance for change but it did not take long to realize that it was not right What was it, we are still wrapping our heads around. Yet, a single question remains: Why is change a vicious cycle in the motherland? I will leave you to ponder your thoughts.

The needs come The desires come but He is interested in a relationship Therefore, seek a relationship. The wins come The adversities come but He is interested in a relationship Therefore, seek a relationship. It may surprise you, we do not own our lives, neither are we owners of what we have Therefore, seek a relationship. We will never feel worthy, nor deserving of His grace. Therefore, seek a relationship. You need it. The Almighty needs it.

Africa was an opportunity. Africa is an opportunity. But, how do Africans see Africa? Do we see it as: an opportunity towards prosperity? Or an opportunity in disparity? I hope the former suffices because, there is, has been, and will always be, a vested interest in Africa. Africa is an opportunity.

We have traded the power of love For the love of power This singular act, have rubbed us of the joys of humanity A wreck in our psyche making us incapacitated to the truth. Let’s us all revert: to love, not power!

Brothers fighting brothers Sisters fighting sisters Nations fighting nations And with no end in sight, where do we go from here? How do we tell ourselves to stop?

We were once attracted to things that inspires us. Today, we are attracted to things that scares us. What happened? What changed?