(In loving memory of all the civilians killed during the Lekki Massacre)

I tried!
God knows I tried
To hide the pain behind the grin
but out of context,
This was a contest where one man could win.

The government for the people
Sorry,
The government vs the people
See, they fucked democracy
so we could pin monuments in honor of fallen soldiers
whose only weapon were a placard and a voice
They cocked their guns and shot on sight
Killing a dream and turning off a mother's light
Protestants turned protesters 
Took to the street with crying lips and unknown tongues
Calling on God to heal their land
"Peace and unity",– the last words of the comrade before he died
Now rewind, faster
"Arise O Compatriots" was the soundtrack of the Lekki Massacre
'Nigeria will not end me' he tweeted
Sooner, his tweeting fingers lay besides his body, still
Like a log of wood, the country fell him

We tried!
God knows we tried
The elders sat down and saw things they thought we wouldn't see while standing
But then,
We stood for our rights!