We are…
We are the travellers, the fighters, the public-transport takers
the dancers, the lovers, the trouble-makers
We are the beachcombers and the drifters
the ambitious and the gifted
corporate and artistic
We are the writers and the seekers
the readers and the dreamers
trying to live with some feeling, some meaning
We are the welcomers and the discoverers
Save your fear, your pennies and your judgments
We are the cooks and the bakers
Browbeaters and debaters
The givers and the takers
Take from this what you will make it
- Many hearts, many minds
leaving no-one behind –
We are without end
We exist
The queues in the early morning dawn/are bureaucracy gone wrong
queuing for another visa, another stamp
in the damp dawn light of Auckland’s morning
I look down the line of city sights -
home is where the heart is
and I wish myself back there
Wrapped in my woollens against the cold
but still leaving my face exposed
I see the saris and hijabs that cover other women in the line
I look into their eyes in the cold morning light
the cloth that covers their face stops me
from seeing their breath in the air
but I know they are there / and we exist
Immigration is the canvas which will inform our culture
as generations change and our lives go on
Identity is what calls to me
whether I am here or overseas
both places are home
please don’t tell me you know where I’m from
And I can see her now
venturing outside / into bottom of Queen Street
Ferry building daylight
Where the boats arrive
She grips her ticket so tight
noves towards the green light
on the crossing that has seen/so many people
come and go
I only want to be safe
And for people to leave me alone
- Let me be home -
