//In Solidarity With The Army//

By Mahbubat Kanyinsola Salahudeen

Not once, not ever 
did we imagine life
would find us like this
 
Did we not think
we would be the ones to stand
and fight for what we must?
 
We had thought 
we would be the ones to find it
the values, equality, dignity, and decency 
coupled with respect
 
Once a shore of possibilities 
now a scorched ground with
dissected hopes carted away

 
And now,
you are the battle front line, red-blooded, thick-skinned
armed with expectations of humanity,
articulations of suffering, hopes raised then crashed
 
The guns may stay silent
but you will not
for many upheavals of yesteryears
you've bade with mirth
 
We stand with you,
we cry with you,
we dream and scream with you
 
For you remain the strength
in the noises that our life makes
and because of that
we can still hold hands
and talk quietly about the kindness of hearts
and the goodness that lies within
 
Because of you
we can still become the reminder to rules
that human rights exist
and belong to us all
 
Because of you
we soar high like the eagle
the wind, the strength behind our wings
 
Dare to live it out!
 
We stand by you
as you prevail through stumbling blocks of yonder
also, these trying times you'll conquer

​Writer's Biography

Mahbubat Kanyinsola Salahudeen is a writer, spoken word artist, poet, and human rights activist. She is a Communication and Language Arts student at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. She has works featured and forthcoming with Spillwords, Poetry Anthology, Biscuit Hills, Mudroom, Ice Flow Press, and elsewhere. Besides storytelling, she is intrigued by music, sports, catering, and historical movies. She is a 2021 Girl Up Scholarship Fund Recipient, a 2021 Girl Up Project Award Recipient, and a winner of the 2021 IHRAF Creators of Literary Justice Award.