Volte Face : An Ode to Sierra Leone’s Iconic Cotton Tree
The cotton tree is truly reflective of our strife
We were supposed to care for her as a dear wife
Devil-may-care, the lantern parades lighten her up at night
We all said we loved her, oh we lied
Happy-go-lucky, we pierced her heart with a knife.
Unreliable protection we offered, we let her leaves dry
Skrik, our forefathers will cringe and cry
For the bats and vultures that soar high
Stayed loyal to her as we watched her legacy die
Nature did the honors and ended her misery, sigh!
No one looked after her welfare
Once, we even set her ablaze like wild fire
La-di-da lovers, we built fancy rings around her
Compete to demonstrate our ambitions in posters surround her
Heedless as she withered within and got tired
Poor monitoring culture missed her failing strength and need to support her
Heavens be damned we salvaged this absolute fall from grace
Twelfth of never we restored her in time and not let her fall to her grave
Ergo, this beautiful piece of history terminates in disgrace
Peradventure we truly love her but we are just two-faced
Bystanders till the things we love crumble to worse case
Zealous lamenting; alas, we soon forget this ever happened – closed case.
The cotton tree, our history, our life
Woven in a parallel vein of gradual demise
Fueled by neglect, impunity and lies
Imminent failures and disasters ushered in red carpets and palm green
Generations upon generations with dashed hopes and battered dreams
Maybe it’s a disguised blessing to fall flat once for all
So we may hopefully disabuse and rise inclusively ‘one and for all’.
Volte-face or I can see it coming, may we be saved from the great fall!
Written By Hamid Marah
Hamid is a business thought leader, entrepreneur and development management practitioner.
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