All in my Thought

Here is a poem, “All in My Thought”, composed by Giddi Abamegal, an Oromo refugee in Kenya and published in Tilting Cages:A Collection of Refugee Writings, edited by Noomi Flutter and Cari Solomon, reflecting the predicaments of exile.

     In front of my tilting cage,

     that litle hut of plastics,

     so not to suffer from loneliness,

     I traveled 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-grandmother,

   those mighty warriors    from whom I inherited

   intolerance and pride.

   I traveled 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 changeles passage of time,

    where this endless kick of my heels,

    could possibly one day lead.

     I traveled far and wide,

     All in my thought

     I also traveled to eternity,

     to see my soul at the end of the mess.

   I traveled far and wide,

   all in my thought.