National Poetry Day: A Refuge Poem by Me

This one is by me - you can find it in The Same Inside, Poems about Empathy and Friendship.


Refugee

After the bombing
and all are lost
and gone

I walk

I can carry only
my father’s pride
my mother’s longing
my brother’s blood
my sister’s hope
and my dreams

but my father’s pride
cannot be carried
as a refugee
so I lay it down

and walk

when I sleep
my mother’s longing
is too painful to hold
so I lay it down

and walk

in time my shoes
fall off my feet
and I leave
my brother’s blood
and my own
on the road
as if it is worthless
and I walk

the road is long
I sleep so little
I cannot remember
my dreams
so I lay them down

and I walk

I can carry only
what is in my heart

my sister’s hope


© Liz Brownlee