By Dr. J. Kerkula Foeday
My Weekly Poetic Reflection Issue 13, Sunday, July 5, 2026
“No one is more hated than he who speaks the truth.”
~ Plato
They said speak the truth, and so I did —
And watched the room go cold.
The liar beside me got the handshake,
The position, the seat, the gold.
I told the father his son was failing,
He cursed me at the gate.
I told the mother her daughter was struggling —
She said I was full of hate.
So pretend, my brother, pretend.
The truth will cost you your kin.
Wear the mask, learn the game
In this world, lying wins.
In the school where I taught with conviction,
I marked the papers with care.
I failed those who deserved it honestly —
The principal called it unfair.
The teacher who passed the failing students
Got praised at the end of year.
The one who told truth to the parents
Was transferred out of fear.
So pretend, my sister, pretend.
Honesty is not the grade.
The curve is bent for the comfortable —
Truth is a price too costly to be paid.
I loved her and told her the truth of my heart,
That her plan had a dangerous crack.
She said I was jealous, controlling, and cold,
And she never once looked back.
The one who agreed with her every dream,
Who flattered and smiled and stayed —
He held her hand at the crumbling end
Of the very road I’d surveyed.
So pretend, my lover, pretend.
Agreement is sweeter than sight.
Tell her she’s right when she walks toward the cliff —
They’ll blame the cliff, not the night.
At the office I raised my hand and said:
“This policy will fail us all.”
They smiled and nodded and passed it anyway,
Then watched the numbers fall.
When the audit came and the losses piled,
They looked for someone to blame —
They pointed at me, the one who warned them,
And buried my honest name.
So pretend, my colleague, pretend.
Never disturb the peace.
Applaud the plan you know is rotten —
Your silence buys your lease.
In Liberia, in the halls of power,
I stood and named the wrong.
They called me foreign, they called me an agent,
Said I did not belong.
The ones who clapped at every scandal,
Who praised the emperor’s new coat —
They sit in offices, they ride in convoys,
While I fight to stay afloat.
So pretend, my country, pretend.
The corruptor loves a crowd.
Bow your head at every bad decision —
The lie is bold and loud.
Plato said it long before us,
In the cold cave of his time:
The man who brings the light is blinded,
Truth-telling is the oldest crime.
So they crucify the honest prophets,
They exile those who see,
They celebrate the smiling liars —
And call it democracy.
So pretend, oh world, pretend.
It costs too much to be real.
The truth is a wound they don’t want opened…
And pretense is how they heal.
But I will not pretend.
Let them hate me — I have seen.
The lie may wear a crown today,
But the truth outlives the king.
I will pay the price of speaking,
I will stand where prophets stood
For if telling the truth is a crime,
Then I am guilty,
And I feel good for being guilty of the crime.
About the Author
Dr. J. Kerkula Foeday is the Chairman of the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology at the Amos C. Sawyer College of Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Liberia. Also, he is the President of the National Association of Social Workers of Liberia (NASOWL). Dr. Foeday is a passionate advocate of good governance and social justice. As a social worker, he frowns on the exploitation and abuse of the most vulnerable in society. His writings reflect his core beliefs and values.
