home is the mouth of a shark, you only run for the border I want to make love but my hair smells of war and running and running. When he uncovers it, the vendor sees a gaunt infant. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Your poem is so powerful and thought provoking. Hey brian out of interest why did you write this refugee poem? There was a fat young Nigerian woman with us and she found it hard to walk. Saw a door opened and a cat let in: Under the barbed wire and scrutiny of those who weren’t looking. The following selection of poems brings together poetry written by and about refugees on a broad spectrum of topics: the experience of losing home, losing family and losing an identity in a search for safety. (Allegretti) “Brian Bilston is a laureate for our fractured times, a wordsmith who cares deeply about the impact his language makes as it dances before our eyes” (Ian McMillan.) Share our countries. Is there any explanation for the ongoing stanza in the poem? I am writing to request permission to use this poem (with full acknowledgment) in the 3rd edition of my book, “Poetry Therapy: Theory and Practice.”. The story now focuses on one particular individual, an old and feeble man. All the best Looking for a New Place to Call Home: Warsan Shire, “No One Leaves Home, Unless Home is the Mouth of a Shark”. And my brother has been tortured He was re-sentenced to eight years and 800 lashes. Some quotes from the poem worth considering: They put you in their museums and applaud. Welcome here, They cannot ame and photo of “Brian Bilston“ are pseudonyms. Old passports can’t do that, my dear, old passports can’t do that. filling our ancestors with words of love: “For World Refugee Week: 4 Poems”. Responses What struck me was the changing context of “fraction”. I would love to be able to include it in a book on climate change which I am writing with my parents, if you give permission. The setting: A narrator, who is later revealed to be a German Jew, has a conversation with a person dear to him (“my dear”), assumingly his wife. Erforderliche Felder sind mit * markiert. Ingrid Kerkhoff.

Calculating The poem is an appeal to take the traditional values seriously when refugees who had managed to survive the crossing are knocking on Europe’s front door: hoping against hope that you remember And why should we live in fear Came to a public meeting; the speaker got up and said; “If we let them in, they will steal our daily bread“: He was talking of you and me, my dear, he was talking of you and me. I am told I am a lie Allusions are not detailed, metaphors not explained, pronouns not identified. Nobody is safe, This beast, this “machine/Which keeps churning out a mounting tally /Of dead” seems to be only appeased by ever new offerings: More victims will have to be offered up to the odious god of hatred and dissent. (Modern Poetry in Translation). but home is the mouth of a shark Read from top to bottom the poem suggests the most dire right wing propaganda: … and an appeal to an antiquated political, A place should only belong to those who are born there, If you want to read more poems by Brian Bilston visit him on. He explicated that his people have become starved and homeless as their lands suffered from massive floods on account of river inundation. Love your poem, “Refugees” and the reverse technique!

An early example is his book The Case of the Socialist Witchdoctor and other stories, Heinemann, 1993. Collage: Photo of Alemu Tebeje (Image Source), background picture: a detail from “Capsized Lives”, found on Moira Eagle’s Webpage. The We had carried the woman through a cold, wild night so that the army of the modern world could rape her. As acknowledged legislators they would have a hard time. It was published in MPT, The Great Flight. Should life have dealt a different hand thanks! I’d be delighted for you to use that poem. We think this would help challenge people to do more for refugees, including climate refugees. Deine E-Mail-Adresse wird nicht veröffentlicht. We were walking across the Turkish-Bulgarian border. (Contents) An article in The Guardian provides some background.

I knew a little about the difficulties, just bits of news in the media. The repugnant residue of our fanaticism The poem begins with the often quoted lines: no one leaves home unless

The background photo shows migrants and refugees queuing at a camp to register after crossing the Greek-Macedonian border near the town of Gevgelija. The dead man was no one, The soldiers raped the Nigerian woman in the room next door. http://www.the-world-speaks-english.com/?p=2651. Benjamin Zephaniah is not a refugee in the strict sense, what readers who can connect with his poem might resent.