It happened to Tolbert,
It happened in the year 1979,
It happened when he was in power,
It happened as he was watering the flowers.
It happened, and the state turned sour,
It happened as he was showing the way to go,
It happened as he struggled to keep the light aglow.
It happened through organized, age-old protests,
It happened as the land aspired to rise to its best.
Tolbert was building farms and market roads,
Tolbert was building a progressive nation,
Tolbert was replacing mats with mattresses,
Tolbert was fighting poverty and ignorance.
Tolbert claimed to champion the interests of the masses,
Tolbert sought to add value to the soil and empower farmers.
Tolbert’s vision was shattered along the way,
Tolbert’s vision was stalled amid the political fray,
Tolbert’s vision was frozen by those who opposed his way,
Tolbert’s wisdom was silenced as hope began to sway.
And tragically, Tolbert was killed while still in power;
His violent end marked a turning point in Liberia’s history.
Tolbert died in a bloody military operation,
An operation that ushered in a new political dispensation,
An operation followed by deepening tribal divisions,
An operation that fostered nepotism and the struggle for power,
An operation that planted seeds of a nation’s darkest hour,
An operation that turned against some of its own organizers,
An operation that helped set the stage for Liberia’s civil war.
Now, a similar political drama seems to be taking place,
As Boakai faces pressure from those who oppose his pace.
They cry as Boakai builds market roads,
They cry as he continues showing the way to go.
They cry as he works to make old things new,
They cry as Liberia pursues a brighter future.
They cry as Liberia approaches its Promised Land,
They cry as Liberia dreams of taking a leading place in the world,
They cry as Liberia trusts in the favor of the Lord.
History has a voice, and its warnings must be heard.
May Liberia learn from yesterday
Before tomorrow repeats its worst.
