Refugee Poem

The Refugee

 

I suffered

     from violence

           and discrimination.

Fear in children’s eyes

          tore

                 at my heart.

I anguished—

    brain tortured,

          heart bleeding,

                 guts screaming.

I did not dare.

I thirsted

       for trust—

               given,

                     received.

I hungered

        for freedom:

               to come,

                      to go,

                             to be.

I journeyed,

     hope kindled,

            hunger appeased,

                   thirst quenched,

                          identity re-captured.

I waited—

     weeks,

          months,

                 years.

Hope dimmed.

Dreams faded.

      Children without a future.

             A waif of charity.

I dreamt

       of joy,

             happiness,

                    peaceful companionship,

                           children everywhere

                                   vibrant with life.

I wait.