Things We Carry on the Sea
We carry tears in our eyes: good-bye father, good-bye
[mother
We carry soil in small bags: may home never fade in our
[hearts
We carry carnage of mining, droughts, floods, genocides
We carry dust of our families and neighbors incinerated
[in mushroom clouds
We carry our islands sinking under the sea
We carry our hands, feet, bones, hearts and best minds
[for a new life
We carry diplomas: medicine, engineer, nurse,
[education, math, poetry, even if they mean
[nothing to the other shore
We carry railroads, plantations, laundromats,
[bodegas, taco trucks, farms, factories, nursing
[homes, hospitals, schools, temples... built on
[our ancestors’ backs
We carry old homes along the spine, new dreams in our
[chests
We carry yesterday, today and tomorrow
We’re orphans of the wars forced upon us
We’re refugees of the sea rising from industrial wastes
And we carry our mother tongues
[...]
As we drift... in our rubber boats... from shore... to shore...
[to shore...
PING, W. Disponível em: https://poets.org. Acesso em: 1 jun. 2023 (fragmento).
Ao retratar a trajetória de refugiados, o poema recorre à
imagem de viagem marítima para destacar o(a)
