Far and Wide
 
 
 
 

Poem by Giddi Abamegal, an Oromo refugee in Kenya published in Tilting Cages: A Collection of Refugee Writings, edited by Noomi Flutter and Carl Solomon. It reflects the feelings of loneliness, uncertainty and rootlessness which permeates the lives of refugees everywhere.

In front of my tilting cage
that little hut of plastics,
so not to suffer from loneliness,
I travelled far and wide
all in my thought.

I went back to the remote past,
our home and its vicinities,
grandma and her stories
of my great grandfather,
those mighty warriors
from whom I inherited
intolerance and pride.
I travelled far and wide
all in my thought.

I went far into the future,
into my dreams and high hopes.
To see what was there,
where this changeless passage of time,
where this endless kick of my heels,
could possibly one day lead.
I travelled far and wide,
all in my though
I also travelled to eternity,
to see my soul at the end of this mess.
I travelled far and wide,
All in my thought. 

This poem is taken from Oromo Commentary, Vol. Vii, No. I, 1997.