Liberian Literary Magazine
February Issue 0215
And then, hate and deceit inv ade the
heart.
When trust and confidence are subjects of
the lips,
Hopelessness
and
despair
become
alternativ es,
But w hen lov e rekindles, we regain strength,
We are rev ived and w e are resuscitated,
Oh yes, w e become fearless and we
become resolute,
For lov e heals, lov e reunites and love
transforms,
Lov e is humble and lov e is understanding,
I ndeed, it takes courage to love.
Josiah F. Joekai, Jr.
The Courage to Love
There are times w e are emotionally
captured,
Captured by affection and adoration,
An uncontrollable feeling that consumes us,
I t is inherent, it is deep-dow n within,
I t is inv isible, it is called lov e.
When it strikes, everyone falls prey to it,
The young, the old and the disabled
deserve love,
Ev en the poor, the rich and the dejected
yearn for lov e,
I ndeed, everyone has the courage to lov e.
Josiah Joekai Jr. is a public serv ant and
dev elopment practitioner w ith more than a
decade of professional service, particularly,
in the areas of education management,
democracy and gov ernance.
Oh for sure, w e all hav e the courage to love,
Lov e is contagious, love is dynamic.
Lov e affects every living soul, male and
female,
Whoever, w herever, whenever and
how ever,
Wonderfully unraveling its many faces.
Ev en in good times and in bad times,
Lov e is kind, lov e is sweet and lov e is
peaceful,
Oh yes, lov e is fair, lov e is just and lov e is
cheerful.
No matter the circumstance,
Ev eryone has the courage to love.
He has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the
Univ ersity of Liberia in political science w ith
emphasis in I nternational Relations and is
currently a graduate candidate in Conflict
Transformation at the Kofi Annan I nstitute for
Conflict Transformation at the Univ ersity of
Liberia.
He is also the author of three books.
But amazingly, Lov e does not exist in
isolation,
No! Not in v acuum, not in space, not in
cosmos,
Lov e is deeply rooted in our hearts,
Lov e is carried within our inner world silently,
But enslav ed by our ow n consciences,
Lov e faces undeserving consequences,
Lov e is robbed and lov e is duped.
As carriers and agents of lov e,
We are v ictims of fear, pain and disaster.
The Cove
Riv ulet
ripples
mellifluously
surreptitiously
lilt.
Conflating
into
a
demure
lagoon
When lov e is raided, w e are w eakened,
Yes, w eakened by arrogance and by
pomposity,
Facing our enemies, w e lack the courage to
confront,
Keith57
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