Photo on Flickr by Swami Stream

For those of you who don’t know there is a wonderful journal of contemporary Liberian writing and art called Sea Breeze, which is a “peer-review electronic journal devoted to publishing art, creative non-fiction, short fiction narratives, cultural stories, poetry, interviews, book reviews, criticism, theory, and social and political commentary by Liberians arising out of Liberian life wherever we are. The journal was named to honor and remember the almost forgotten Sea Breeze Folk Songs of Liberia.” The journal was founded in 2004 and is now published biannually in May and November.

Even more exciting is that one of our very own bloggers, Saki Golafale, has had his poetry published in Sea Breeze. Check it out in its original form here or at Saki’s own blog Practice What You Preach. in the meantime here’s a taste of Saki’s work:

The Necessary End

He who opens the door of birth
Will one day close the door of death
Captured between birth and death
I have committed my life to earth
Determined to make untold history
That the earth would one day call its glory

If life could tell me what it means
I could tell it all my deeds
In search of what my eyes can’t see
For all the earthly things I grieve
Only life can tell me what I need

Life and death
Who does the best?
Up and down with life I go
Life should give me all the gold
Then I’ll cherish life the best
And death should take me home to rest

Life’s Load

Life’s load
Too hot
To hold
Too big
To fold
Too sweet to hold
If managed
Cumbersome
If damaged

Don’t leave your load
On the road
For it may get wet
When the rain falls
And get heavier
Than you expect

Possess your load
When you’re youthful
And be useful when you’re old

Nature’s Beauty

Nature’s beauty
Since ancient days
Has come of age
To play its part

On every stage
Just to save
This life we live

Nature’s beauty
Both day and night
Is in transition
To make things right
The sun
The moon
And the stars
The wind
The rain
And mobile clouds

All give a chance
For each to act
So as to make all creatures smile

Nature’s beauty
Is in the sea
Nature’s beauty
Is in the sky
Nature’s beauty
Is on the land
And this is where we all can stand

To make amends
And nurture friends

Nature’s beauty
Is full of life
For the comfort
Both day and night,
I wish one day
She could be my wife

In the Name of Liberty (A Liberian Scenario)

In the name of liberty
They snapped away the chain of authority
Piercing a dagger into the breast of peace
And creating a state of anarchy and lawlessness

As they befriended good and evil
Both of which could not coexist
The heavens got offended
And all our blood stained pilots
Who could no longer find the compass
Plunged our society into disorder

In the name of liberty
The new order marched to town
Over skulls of red, white, and blue
Singing slogans that history still remembers
They reaped the seeds that were never sowed
And lived through a brief period of ill-gotten wealth
Then met their deserved and just fate

In the name of liberty
They wanted again to use our ignorance
To ascend to the throne
With hard hearts no one could see
Only God could direct our hands
To cast our votes for people of integrity

North, south, east, and west
Can someone tell me where they are?
While some have returned to the dust
Others are behind the iron curtain
And a few are begging on the capitol
To protect their blood-coated wealth
And hide their deeds already known

In the name of liberty
They have offended both God and humanity
But we leave them with posterity
As we all welcome unity
Till the day will come prosperity