This year
we lost much presence
some walked off stage
crossed boundaries and borders
We found this silence
deep solitude
new voids to bridge those chapters
On sharpest rocks
we’d been a lighthouse
waving goodbye to ships that sail and shipwrecks sunk
greeting a visitor anew
away from granite blades and deadly coves
Short of a breath
-fury of life-
our door shut firm
bolts on our open house
bars hid our open heart
We waved our arms in air and to each other
we put our helot heads to work
non-citizen hard grafters
earning your trust
earning our spot
We found
the joy of hibernation
new waves of gratitude
old friends who took us in
-the strongest bond of homelands-
And love
we found undying love
the one that wears so many faces
sings all these songs
and breeds in silence
dances the clouds
and still it sits in storms
We found our life
we found our breath
and then that other minor thing
,the gift that modesty beholds,
our self-respect
