Marvin Garbeh Davis, Sr.
When the Darkness Learned Our Names
In this city, electricity moves like a passing ghost—
brief, trembling, unable to anchor itself in our walls.
When it appears,
it startles the rooms into brightness,
exposing everything we tried to hide:
the unpaid bills,
the sleepless nights,
the faces we wear only in the dark.
We scramble—
charging phones, boiling water,
capturing the moment
as if light were a rare creature
we might never see again.
But the ghost tires easily.
It slips away without apology,
leaving the darkness to reclaim us,
slow and certain,
whispering our names
with the confidence of something
that knows it will outlast us.
Marvin Garbeh Davis Sr. is a Liberian writer and poet whose work explores the intersections of memory, survival, faith, and the everyday endurance of ordinary people. His writing is deeply rooted in Liberia’s post-war landscape, drawing from the rhythms of community life, oral storytelling traditions, and the quiet, often unseen labors that hold families and nations together. He lives with his wife, Angea, in Monrovia, from where he writes between faith, community work, and the stories that shape a nation continuing its long journey toward restoration.
