When I was nineteen I finally left home to attend college in Malaysia. Looking my fear about trying to adapt to my new environment, not to mention dealing with culture. I put all of that and more into this piece and I hope what's in it will ring true with a lot people.
Moving past
The miles run inland past the sea,
they lead me slowly like a riverboat
laying up against the shore
Oh sight of home recedes leaving taste
of salt and tears to settle in my lungs
but I breathe deeply
Oh scent of air, perfume of laundry soap
and sound of chatter, catcalls and the
yellow of taxi signs, a nest of starlings
that burst with movement and the
crinkle of green and red
My mother’s name surrenders
itself into this tongue,
Abang, he tells me I’ve called him uncle
This is not my home but as shoulders spin
me and I’m dragged along I see a
city pierce the jungle green,
I feel the rain upon my cheeks and
the touch of fingers that grip my hand
to join the clamor of strangers moving past.
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