IRONY: "THEY WILL COME WITH GUNS" BY SUMAILA UMAISHA

They came in the morning 

with brooms and swept

litters under the glitter, 

rat holes blocked, 

running roaches 

stamped to death for 

the fingerprints on tills.

They came with daggers 

this afternoon, cleared 

the dregs the brooms 

could not reach; 

veins drained to die 

for the living to learn.

They will come with guns 

in the evening to shoot

the sun down and set us

free from the glare.

© SUMAILA UMAISHA 

-Nigeria 

In “They Will Come With Guns,” Sumaila Umaisha explores the progressive use of force in addressing societal problems. The poem presents three stages of intervention: brooms are used to sweep away visible dirt, daggers eliminate what remains, and guns are expected to bring the final solution. However, the progression from cleaning to violence suggests that attempts to establish order may become increasingly destructive. The concluding image of shooting down the sun to gain freedom from its glare introduces irony, suggesting that those who promise liberation may seek to destroy the very things that expose uncomfortable truths. The poem therefore criticises ineffective or oppressive approaches to social change and questions whether violence can genuinely bring freedom.