‘The Lion’s Last Roar’
Muhammad Habibat Sani is a Nigerian poet, journalist, photographer and activist. She was the runner-up at the Sokoto Book and Art Festival Poetry Slam Competition (SOBAFEST). Her work has been published on Synchronized Chaos. She can be found on Facebook as @MuhammadHabibatSani (UmmuYasmeen) and on Instagram as @Ummu.yasmeen1. and on twitter @MUHAMMAD SANI HABIBAT.
The Lion’s Last Roar
Storm clouds gather,
and we just stagger.
A dictator will invigorate,
a conquest of terror built on hate.
When the world gets tough,
peace keeping isn’t always enough.
Where the sunflowers grow,
we failed to put on a show.
Abandoned them to fight
a dictator's ferocious full might.
I wonder if our fathers could see
our blatant hypocrisy.
Would they stand with pride and say,
how proud they are of us today?
Or in their graves would they roll,
and wonder why they paid such toll?
Wonder why they died.
Wonder why we haven’t tried.
Far away, hyenas wait,
for a battle they would instigate.
An old lion sleeping,
perhaps one eye peeping.
An empire it controlled.
Now, its coat a fading gold.
Maybe it will stand once more,
and find the strength to mighty roar.
Maybe its moral will soar.
Maybe it can win for sure.
But, if the lion is too sick,
we must poke it with a stick.
This large task,
may be a fatal ask.
The lion could already be dead,
don’t let it get to your head.
Hope and faith are the paths we tread.
No time to mourn,
for there’s no guarantee of dawn.
A heart horribly torn,
is an ingredient well worn,
for a lion cub to be born.
Although the father may rot,
the cub will do what he could not.
In this poem my emotions I hide,
but it’s not for me to decide.
You control the lion’s fate,
don’t worry, you'll do great.
But you haven’t long to wait.
The hyenas circle ever tighter.
Tell me, will we be a fighter?
Jake Wright is a fourth year biology student at UBCO pursuing a minor in creative writing. When He's not writing, he's usually gaming, crying over university, or skiing.
