By Dr. J. Kerkula Foeday
MY WEEKLY POETIC REFLECTION, ISSUE 6, SATURDAY, JUNE 8, 2026
We are a hard-headed people,
Or so the story goes;
We plant the seeds of trouble,
Then wonder why it grows.
We cry for better roads,
For progress, peace, and light;
Yet often fight the very things
That could improve our plight.
At Red Light and Omega,
The government clears the way;
By morning sellers reappear,
As if they never went away.
The warnings come in dozens,
The orders come in streams;
Yet roadside stalls return again
To choke our public schemes.
We are a hard-headed people,
Quick to complain and shout;
Yet when solutions knock the door,
We often lock them out.
The government places trash cans
Along the road with care;
But garbage fills the gutters,
As though the cans aren’t there.
Workers clean the streets today,
Till every corner gleams;
By dawn new heaps of trash have gathered there,
Defying civic dreams.
The rain then floods the roadways,
The water will not drain;
And we curse fate and government
For troubles we create and sustain.
We are a hard-headed people,
The truth is hard to hide;
Too often discipline and pride
Walk on opposite sides.
The traffic light says, “Stop for a while,”
The driver however speeds ahead;
The sign says, “Form a proper line,”
But order soon is dead.
The rules are plain and visible,
The laws are clear and fair;
Yet many act as though the rules
Are meant for different people there.
We seek a stronger nation,
A future bright and grand;
Yet greatness cannot blossom
Without a helping hand.
For nations are not built alone
By presidents in the mansion;
They rise when ordinary people
Hold standards they wish for and apply.
Liberia, my Liberia,
I speak because I care;
A house cannot be strengthened
If cracks are everywhere.
The fault is not in others,
Nor government alone;
A nation reaps tomorrow
From seeds its people today have sown.
So let us change our habits,
Let better choices spread;
For progress moves much faster
When people are not hard-headed.
And when we learn to listen,
To reason before we react,
Liberia will discover
The power of disciplined act.
Then future generations
Will proudly rise and say:
“We were once hard-headed people,
But we found a better way.
About the Author:
Dr. J. Kerkula Foeday currently chairs the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology in the College of Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Liberia. He is also the President of the National Association of Social Workers of Liberia (NASOWL)
