In Our Country We Used To Have... Poem by Agatha Eliza

A new Tower of Babel is built with bones under
our eyes..glued together with the blood and tears
of the orphaned and the drowned, rather than
the sun-baked bricks and tar of the biblical times,
aimed, once more, to pierce the unconquerable sky,
as a bitter plea struggles to reach God's deaf ears,
so, please..Do not discriminate! Do not judge!


'In our country we used to have..' she utters
while holding her child close to her breast;
'We used to have exactly what you have..a Life
but now, everything is taken away-
can't go back since there's nothing but Death...
We are here to grow like the wild flowers from
another land, water us with kindness
and we'll forge our roots and begin it all anew
untie the tongues, let go of the hatred that rules
over your hearts. We are One..One flesh
Let us not be divided, scorned or put to shame! '


Each person comes with a story, with a dream
a grain from the homeland in their pockets,
a lullaby, a prayer said with ardour
in the times of dire need, a language that will
melt, words and names that will blend or lose their
trace in this vast ocean called 'civilization'
where roads are never paved in gold, as promised!