Bai T. Moore
– October 2021

Bai T. Moore was born on October 12, 1910 in the town of Dimeh, a Gola village between Monrovia and Tubmanburg in Liberia, and died in Monrovia on Jan. 10, He studied at Virginia Union University and returned to Liberia in 1941, where he served the Liberian government in various posts while writing, promoting the Gola, Dey culture and the general cultures of Liberia. Bai T. Moore became Minister of Cultural Affairs and Tourism under the government of Samuel K. Doe, a post that he served in diligently until he died in 1988 at the age of 79.

Glory Days


wandered in the moonlit night
to view the glory of the past


The ruins of those pioneer days
were silhouetted against the light


where once stood mansions decked with pride
now ruled by vipers and the bats


are ‘nough to make one stop and sigh

The broken frames can hardly stand
the beating of the constant rain


And on the landscape high above
the ruins of the parish too


can tell the ghostly story plain
beneath the grass stand epitaphs


a remnant of some burial ground


A lordly cricket once in a while
will break the silence with a sound


Or in some distant woods a drum
a native feast in feverish swing


I wonder after all these years

these ancient ruins can rise again


and brighten up a dismal scene?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *