ELEGY: "A PLEA TO MY ANCESTORS" BY BISHOP SAHR ISAAC PETERSON.

O old ones of the soil,  

Hear our broken tongue,  

We kneel at memory’s gate,  

Beg you beyond the baobab,  

The land you blessed is spoiled,  

Come back, if road is open.  

Elders with calabash are mute,  

Their stools taken by false men,  

Leaders wear your name now,  

But sit on switch-throne,  

They turn right to wrong,  

Pure fire burns with strangers.  

We call your old wisdom,  

Older than foreign ink,  

You judged under kola moon,  

Truth had no mask then,  

Now culture lies like shed skin,  

Heritage sold for glitter.  

Ancestors of land and sea,  

Your steps mark our red earth,  

But we trade totems for tags,  

We chase views not honor,  

Council fire is cold now,  

Come light what they killed.  

The land bleeds and shakes,  

Trust is gone from market,  

Shame has lost its voice,  

Youth love speed not depth,  

We are many online,  

Yet lonely in our homes.  

We don’t curse today,  

We remember your way,  

You led with good heart,  

If you can, cross the veil,  

Teach new rulers the stool,  

Return our culture’s cloth.  

We pour this verse as drink,  

Not to cry, but to call,  

Come back if you hear us,  

Lend your patience and fire,  

Let then meet tools of now,  

Build a past our children praise.  

©️ Bishop Sahr Isaac Peterson

Beauty of Africa's Poetry (BoAP), 

Sierra Leone, West Africa.

A Plea to My Ancestors by Bishop SAHR Isaac Peterson is a reflective and socially conscious poem that mourns the decline of African cultural values, ethical leadership, and communal unity. The speaker calls upon the ancestors to return and guide the present generation, lamenting how corruption, materialism, and the abandonment of tradition have weakened society.

The poem criticizes false leaders, the loss of honesty and respect, and the growing influence of modern trends that overshadow cultural heritage. It highlights the loneliness and moral confusion of contemporary life, where people are increasingly disconnected from their roots and from one another.

Despite its sorrowful tone, the poem carries a message of hope. Rather than rejecting progress, it urges a balance between ancestral wisdom and modern tools, envisioning a future where traditional values and contemporary development work together to create a stronger and more honorable society for future generations.