Like the Dove of Peace

Like the dove of peace Liberians must fly
With hearts of hope up high
Above troubled clouds of unceasing pain
We must rise to unwavering heights unseen
Like the dove of peace we must endure
Till lasting peace is finally secured
On its wings of love Liberians must ride
Avoiding hatred and its troubling tides
Like the dove of peace we must glide
On rushing winds with consistent strides
Facing our adversaries with hearts of love
We must trust in none but our God above

In the heat of the moment

A nice and happy day ends up in pain
Because suddenly tempted
we quickly go insane
We never stop to think
And there is no time to blink
Bam! It happens, in the heat of the moment
It starts most often as a joke
But it lands us in a yoke
Cuffs, chains and shattered dreams
Because we never stop to think
In the heat of the moment

Dishonesty: The private roots of our public woes

First we fail to speak the truth
Knowing our friends are simply brutes
Then we fill their heads with stories and lies
Only to steal their money in heaps and piles
Although we know how much they are wrong
We tell them they are right ‘coz they are strong
Then we watch in silence as
they worsen with time
As their harmful acts turn into crimes
For the gifts we get we sell our rights
While we twist the truth with all our might
Then we shamelessly defend
their deceits and lies
As others can only watch and wonder why?
Now, our friends have grown in strength
So they will go to any length
To hurt our people and our country
Leaving us helpless and shame to say
we are sorry

Freeing our minds

Shackles of ruins now hold us bound
Walls of despair are all around
We proud Liberians who once ruled the world
Now live like prisoners on foreign soil
We who stood strong in every quest
We who stood proud from east to west
Beautiful Liberians: shining brightly
Tortured by hardship and living badly
Misery looms like a prison wall
With the tricks of time it stands tall
But all Liberians must rise and we must find
The strength and courage to free our minds

Freeing our minds II

with Steve Lubkemann

Ruins are shackles that hold us bound
Despair as a wall casts its shades all around
Pride of Liberia, now rendered spoil
Carried by wanderers on foreign soil
Once we stood tall in the face of the quest
Once we were one from east and from west
Once we shone as Africa’s star
Now fallen from grace: fallen so far
Look up past your misery
Past your mind's prison wall
Our hope is our strong weapon
That can make that wall fall
Though this torture, this limbo
May yet linger on
Though our bodies be exiled
And our exile be long
Our minds are not here
Praying past bars of fear
Seek Liberia renewed
Pray our Liberia renewed

While We Wait

While we wait for the hope of a better
life somewhere
For the chance of pleasures and
riches unknown
For the uncertainties
and promises untold
And for that elusive break that
makes our dreams come true
Let us not forget that we’ve still
got to live through today

While we wait for the hope of living
outside these shores
For the privilege of living
like we dream we should
For the pleasure of life
beyond our current woes
And for the luxury of living
life beyond our means
We must remember to first live through today

While we wait for our names to appear
on the departure list
For that one phone call that says “all is clear!”
For that long distant lover to file for us
And for that slim chance of winning
the US visa lottery
We must not forget to first live through today

While we wait for that ever elusive tomorrow
For all its promises of peace and contentment
For all its hope and endless opportunities
For all we know and do not know
Let’s remember to live even WHILE WE WAIT!