Dark Shrine Poem by Mohamed Foday Kamara

I heard it blown
It was the horn with trumpet sound
Out of the cave, they waved, sang and danced
To tell the sign of my death
Cry of no hope with tears ran down my cheek
The cheered at my sorrow with crocodile tears
While I suffered in the dark
A man who had kept himself sacred
Had taken me prey for visible lifeless goods
That I could destroy and make their kinds for decorations
But my branches were tightly tired together
My mouth filled with granite biscuits
My eyes turned red
And I heard the sorrowful voices of the dead
Who were taken into the unpleasant suite before me
'Are the gods going to eat my flesh and suck the marrows off my bones? '
'No! ', they replied
'All they want is your blood'
Oh! What a pain to be ravaged by a heartless predator
Who is of a class not greater than mine
Before He; God who had sent us to this world
I pray for all, not even my enemy
To pass through such pains in the dark shrine
Will there be a day when human blood will be denied in all shrines?
Will there be a day when dark shrines will be monument of history?
I am afraid
For so called men and women of wisdom
Are active members of this barbaric act
To gain power and wealth
But wait! Man is mortal
And I believe, so are his practices
The practice of the dark shrine will reached its end only when
You in the west and you in the east, north and south
My enemy, you my friend and I
Will love and respect
The life and dignity of another man.