My heart lives in the place of the exiled. The banished land, barren with burden, barren with anger, barren of hope. My heart weeps like them, the homeless, for a place to live. This place where maggots turn over the flesh of the dead is no longer their own. Composting the earth- they prepare for the return of the baker, the farmer, the mother, the father; the return of the exiled to their homes. Homes in this barren land that are not here, not there, where the sun shines ammonia bright and shadowless. I am from the place of the exiled, lost in this circus, this laughter of work, of clowns, of someone else’s life. Like them my heart bleeds, it bleeds as loud, as fast; I am from the land of the exiled, the land of nomads, roamers that return again and again, to that place that was stolen. Their hearts dry-roasted on the spits of their enemies. Here I am lost. Here I am raging, in there, with them, in this fireball of the sun and the cold dark heart of the enemies home, lost, lost, lost. Here I am burnished into the dry desert of stone, of sand, of heat. Here I am lost, lost, lost!
Peace will not come until they are home. The heart will not settle until they are returned. The maggots will not rest until the dead stop roaming, satisfied and at peace, home in their own land, home in their own hearts, home in their own confiscated beds. The exiled will not rest!
©Jay Mora-Shihadeh
Photo by Cole Keister on Unsplash
#Prose #Poetry #Exile #Disenfranchised
“This place where maggots turn over the flesh of the dead is no longer their own. Composting the earth- they prepare for the return of the baker, the farmer, the mother, the father; the return of the exiled to their homes.”
I would quote it all as every word of this hit me deeply. Such a powerful, punchy write. You can really feel the truth of it ❤
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Really glad you enjoyed it, thanks so much for stopping by. 🙋🏻♂️
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Thank you Zack, for the pingback . 🙋🏻♂️
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Really good piece
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Thank you!
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I can identify with that angst and craving from being homeless, you nailed it pretty damn spot on. Loved this one.
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Thanks man, really appreciate your feelings on this. This one sits in my heart pretty deep so thanks.
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You’re welcome – hit my in the feels and brought back some memories of the past, I appreciate you writing it, 🙂
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Oh man. I love this.
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Thank you Tara 🙏🏻
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Thank you Allison 😊
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My pleasure, Jay. 🙂
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“…where the sun shines ammonia bright and shadowless.” Outstanding.
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This is a superbly evoked piece.
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Thanks
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You’re very welcome
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Beautiful empathy, Jay. Thank you for sharing this.
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Thank you George, it’s def close to my heart and family experience. 🙏🏻🙋🏻♂️
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That is certainly the impression I have of you, Jay, from you’ve shared, that your own life has faced challenges. You write from a personal truth, an experience that makes your writing that much more tangible. And believable.
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🙏🏻 Thanks so much my friend
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Nice set of emotion.
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Thanks!
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