"Born with a Gun in My Heart", Poem by Solape Adetutu Adeyemi

Born with a Gun in My Heart is raw, immersive, and brutally honest. The extended gun metaphor sets a tone of violence, survival, and inescapable.

Born with a Gun in My Heart is raw, immersive, and brutally honest. The extended gun metaphor sets a tone of violence, survival, and inescapable reality, reflecting the poet's struggle with identity and the lack of true choice.

Born with a Gun in My Heart

I was born with a gun in my heart, bullets pumping through my veins, each breath a loaded sigh. The streets named me before my mother could, whispering my fate in the cracks of the pavement, in the sirens that sang me lullabies.

Born into the hustle, into the weight of powder and mugging,

I learned to measure my worth in weight, in stacks, and in the resultant dollar bills in the quick math of survival. Mastered the art of cooking the powder and stepping on it for maximum profit. Money, money, money!

My teachers were the corners, the alleyways, the guys in the hood with their leather jackets, hoodie and flashy jewelry, their eyes as cold as winter, who told me, This is the only way.

I pushed. I ran. I stole. I took. I learned the poetry of locked doors and unspoken rules. The night became my scripture, the city my pulpit, and I preached with a clenched fist, with a blade’s whisper, with a gun’s silencer.

My name was written before I could read it. Before I could dream it different. Fate walked beside me, hands in its pockets, humming a tune I could never change. And so the day came when the streets stopped calling my name, when the sun rose and set through a window too small for a man to fit through.

Now, I count the days like a dealer counts bills, behind the bars, folding time in the palm of my hands, wondering if redemption has a door wide enough for me to walk through.

And I hear my name in still whispers in the night. And I wonder—was I ever meant to be anything but this?

 

Poet

Solape Adetutu Adeyemi is a dedicated professional with a Bachelor's degree in Microbiology and a Master's in Environmental Management. She is a researcher, a consultant,a passionate environmental sustainability enthusiast and a talented award winning creative writer, with her works published in esteemed journals and magazines, including Writenow Literary Journal, TV Metro, Poetry Marathon Anthology, the Guardian newspaper, the Kalahari review and the Indiana review among others.

With close to two decades of experience, Solape has excelled in various roles within the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry with varying certifications: ISO certifications (International Standards Organisation), a Basic level certificate in Spanish, Behavioural management, Mental Health, Office etiquette, Advanced Excel, Health, Safety and Environment, script writing and movie production plus Modern HR management. Her commitment to environmental causes aligns with her belief that everyone can contribute to saving our planet.

Beyond her professional life, Solape enjoys watching action movies and immersing herself in whale documentaries. She is a host, presenter, teacher, counsellor, voice over artiste, script writer, poet, and movie subtitler. Her diverse interests reflect her curiosity about the world and her commitment to learning.

Solape is a member of the following bodies: the American Society of Microbiologists(ASM), the Association of Nigerian Authors, Lagos chapter(ANA)and Poets in Nigeria(PIN)

Currently, Solape serves as the Vice Chairman of the Association of Nigerian Authors in Lagos, Nigeria, where she continues to contribute to the literary and cultural landscape of her community. Her dedication to both her professional career and advocacy for environmental sustainability demonstrates her multifaceted talents and unwavering commitment to making a positive impact in the world.