Yuh Kom’-fuh Meehn
Whar hah-PEEHN Sahmueh Kahyon Doh?
Thar YUU the peepoe say muh go?
Thar YUU dey say dey komin’ kae?
Thar YUU whar may-kay Liebee-r’a ayh?
YUU who na gi’ dehn plehntae ress
GAHS peepoe poh-kay foeluh cass,
PAE-ehn deh sahl-ray eb’rae moohn,
SEHN-nin’ deh chae’rehn ohr to skoohn,
Ehn’ peepoe leevihn’ eb’rywheh’
Toh KAHN toh dis Liebee-ruh heeyeh!
YUU who brough jorstis to the lehn,
Duh trahbs ohr wohkin haen-eehn-hehn
BRUH’ huemuhn wrihse,
Orb-haih duh lor;
NO monkay workay wha barbuuhn druhw.
WHAR may-kay dehne so uhngraefuh so?
Whar bahr I doos, I gahs to go?
YUH KOM-fuh MEE mah peepoe oh-h-h!
Y’all Comfort Me
What happened Samuel K. Doe?
Is it you the people say should go?
Was it you that made Liberia ill?
You who have given them lots of rice,
Stuffed people’s pockets full of cash,
Paying their salary every month,
Sending their children all to school,
And people leaving everywhere
To come to this Liberia here.
You who brought justice to the land,
The tribes all working hand-in-hand,
Brought human rights, Upheld the law;
No monkey-work-while-baboon-draw.
What makes them so ungrateful so?
What wrong have I done that I must to go?
Y’all comfort me my people, oh-h-h!
Samuel Doe, who came from the Krahn tribe of Liberia, was the nation's president from 1980 until 1990. He supposedly ran an ethically-based dictatorship government. But his regime soon became corrupt and he ended up favoring member of his tribe, putting them in positions of power, while systematically eliminating dissenting voices in the government.
ReplyDeleteI love this poem because it is in both Liberian English, and English, and seems to retain the same rhyming, sing songy feel in both languages. It interestingly resembles a nursery rhyme, with all of its questions, and dramatic iteration, while dealing with a very serious topic, the rise and fall of a Liberian leader.
It is sort of a political satire- the innocent structure of the poem sarcastically mocks its subject. Clearly, Samuel K. Doe, was not as honest and ethical as he claimed to be, and nor were his policies.
Beautiful poetry...
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