“The man who finds his homeland sweet is still a tender beginner; he to whom every soil is as his native one is already strong; but he is perfect to whom the entire world is as a foreign land.”

~Hugo of St. Victor



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Tuesday, September 18, 2018

Diaspora




Diaspora
Alien, stranger in this world, Other
We left our home but our home has not left us. 

Home
Place of our dreams, place of our Selves, place of our blood.
That place which brands us, marks us, delineates us.
A pastiche of memories and meanings,
Constantly changing while remaining unchanged.
Home
That place we belong to which we no longer belong.
Our roots, our bondage, our past, our future.
It haunts our dreams and taints our tongues.
It shapes our souls and our social introductions.

“Where are you from?”
            The Dark Continent, The Motherland
            The place you do not know and have not known.
            Hidden in mists and misconceptions, 
            Ignored in ignorance, exoticized in effigy. 
Where are we from?
         Do you really want to know?
         Should we really tell you?
         How can you begin to understand?
         How can we begin to understand?

Where is Home?
         We knew once.  Then we left.
         Chasing dreams or chased from dreams.
         Seeking greener pastures, expelled from natal pastures.
         Pushed or pulled, drawn or compelled.
Where is Home?
           Both here and there.
          Neither here nor there.
          In the home of our birth, we have become Other.
           In our adopted home, we remain Other.

Where do we belong?   
      Everywhere.  Nowhere.  Anywhere.
      In a land not our home, in a land not our own.
      A land of aliens, strangers, and others
      In a land where we have become the alien, the stranger, the Other.

We are Diaspora


                 

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