Poem: Checkpoint by Femi Fatoba

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Checkpoint

There is always something formal
Bout the barrel of a gun
With its one-eyed coldness
Which dares you to talk
As your friendly policeman
Prays you question his rudeness.

When your protector-soldier
Rearranges your dentition and
Overfills your mouth with your tongue
There is always something mutely formal
About the butt of a gun.

There is always something formal
About the barrel of a gun
When its long steel finger of caution
Advises you to tip the officer
Who supervises death on the roads.

There is always something formal
About the barrel of a gun
When, with hot-leaded snout it coughs
In admonition of your daring
To argue with a policeman.
There is always something final
About the trigger of a gun.

— Femi Fatoba

Image Credit: Ayanfe Olarinde on Unsplash.

Reference
Team, LP. (2023). Poem: Checkpoint by Femi Fatoba. Literature PADI. https://www.literaturepadi.com.ng/2023/01/06/poem-checkpoint-by-femi-fatoba/ (Accessed on October 11, 2025 at 16:46)

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