Magnus M Collins Jr. is one of Liberian’s acclaimed spoken word artists whose lines draw a demarcation between Philosophy and Poetry. Magnus, who goes by the pen name ‘Sweet Darkness´ is one of the artists on the national project ‘My Vote My Power’ – a project organized by Libpedia and the Liberian Poet Society to create awareness about a non-violence political campaign in Liberia. He has performed at several events including the International Women's Day Programs held by his organization in partnership with the Swedish Embassy in 2019 and 2020.
Outside of performing spoken word, Sweet Darkness serves as the Vice President of the Liberian Poet Society where he coordinates activities. You can find more of his work on his instagram page @the.dark.side.of.light. In celebration of Emergi’s electric kekeh campaign, Magnus penned a poem to show us his support.
Ma Martha makes market lists many mornings mainly to make market trips early to avoid the traffic.
Her choice of transport is the trusted kekehs which beats traffic easily and saves her time, money, and energy.
Today, Ma Martha is shocked by the rise in transport fares and fears she won’t afford her daily trips to the market.
Maybe many mothers make many market trips daily which is causing a rise in transport prices.
Ma Martha asks the kekeh rider why the price is so high this morning.
He tells her gas prices have risen therefore forcing the price to rise.
And if she can’t pay the new fares, he fears she won’t be allowed to ride.
Ma Martha now prays for a miracle to change the situation of the times.
If there is a god out there who listens when the poor cries.
Maybe he would send a solution to the problems which are now on the rise.
Maybe he would create a solution to reduce the price.
Or maybe he would create a kekeh which didn’t need to use gas.
We don’t usually see how issues like rise in price can cause trouble for the common people.
We don’t see how the everyday hustle and bustle of society can be hindered by little increases in daily prices.
We don’t feel the stress of duress on Ma Martha to pay a fare which only increases daily.
But what can we do to make sure this doesn’t continue to happen perpetually?
Carry me to a future where Ma Martha doesn’t have to worry about gas prices.
A future where the fares are stable and there is no fear of immediate increases.
A future which turns from petroleum products and uses green energy.
An emerging future which uses the power of the sun to run everyday transportation.
Guest Writer
Magnus is a mentor of poetry and one of the artists on the national project ‘My Vote My Power’ – a project organized by Libpedia and the Liberian Poet Society to create awareness about a non-violence political campaign in Liberia. Outside of performing spoken word, Magnus serves as the Vice President of the Liberian Poet Society where he coordinates activities. He goes by the pen name 'Sweet Darkness'.
