I’d Run

i.
When I got here,
air became fresher.

They’d call me to gather with them
Beneath the bones of dried trees
Under whose arm, the moon stare
at the ending moments of our daily toils.
They’d sing in foreign languages
I will dance in native steps
Trying to decipher the depth of their lines

They would call me to witness again
The savour of  their hale culture,
The carnival of topless virgins
Dancing in the river of puberty.
They’d laugh if I refuse to nail her back
On the dusty flesh of the naked soil
In the game of choice, they’d cheer if I shred
a strand of sweat.
I still would wonder who they were
But home will i call this, home.

ii.
I’d sit absentminded on the edge of thoughtless days
Playing indolent rhythms about writing home
Till i find comfort in their smiles–
The one that carved coated anguish on their faces.
I’d run back into their arms, longing
For the warmth from their horizon forgetting home
In this desert of cold waters.

iii.
But I’d remember home tonight
When the statesmen who promised me shelter
Chases my skull with diamond-tipped spears.
I’d run with fleeting feet to the walls built with fear
I’d run from the residual chaos, a sickness that falls
On the muscled ligaments of the home I found
Miles away from my native districts.
I’d remember I knew this place was strange
From the night my feet trod these streets.

I’d run from Xenophobia, tonight.

©tohquality