Big Uncles Stay Alive Poem by Haruna Garba

We only flood the streets
The able-bodied workforce
Only we deluge it
Inviting the wrath of the guards

We only man the frontline
The muscular workforce
Only we take to it
Risking fire from any side

They never show up
No they don't
And they never will
Once it is a precarious thing

They perform in a hall
With no foot to be dragged
And so they live
Aloof uncles safe and good

Uncles protected not the veterans
Their victories not yours
The triumphs you aren't there to share
Not even the initial celebration itself
Those who bear the cost won't be there
When the reward will be reaped