Tales of the Refugee

There once was a young man from Somalia
Who found a refuge in Australia
And lived to tell the tale

He said “I have made my peace with time
And found a home away from home”
In the sun-burnt country
Amongst the perfumed gum trees

It’s the same site where
The honeyeaters feed
Where the spring flowers
Lose their pollen
And where Cook
And the rainbow warrior,
Met in that immortal encounter

Thus having planted his roots
In the great antipodean soil
He could now allow his eyes
To dream again

Yet Africa still beckons
Its magnetic force immense
Despite the human condition
And the lurid clouds of war
Of famine and despair

Even in the best of times
The constant longing
For Mother Africa (MA)
Captivates his young mind
And energizes the soul
As he does the daily battle
For survival

The Somali is not alone
For distance warms the heart
And feeds the imagination
Of the young and old alike
As they live out their odyssey.

Copyright © 2005 Lawrence T. Udo-Ekpo