belonging and identity poems

sense of diaspora as he is missing his family

‘in darkness was my father’s big banana field’

diaspora

spread of a people from their original homeland

her culture and identity is shared with ancestors

• sibilance- unbreakable connection with ancestors

‘spiritual sari sisters entwined in an infinite silk that would swathe’

she feels out of place and is unable to ‘grow’ her culture in England

• juxtaposition- Punjab soil is fertile but English isn’t

‘ the Punjabi in my mouth became dislodged as milk teeth fell and hit infertile English soil’

lost her identity in England as people there don’t understand her and aren’t making space for her culture

‘my voice a mystery in the Anglo echo chamber’

identifies with the pot/ pot almost fits into ‘adopted’ culture but is still out of place

‘ you could almost be an english pot but I know you’re not’

her past and present are connected by the view

‘anchored only by the axis of our gaze’

hiding identity but it’s still there/ loss of self-worth and heritage

‘you kept your accent in a box beneath the bed’

she is proud of the accent and wants it to return to her

‘shout it from the roofs, send your words like pigeons, fluttering for home’

his identity is linked with his ancestors as the family tradition is passed down

‘like his father before him, and his father too’

his identity is linked with matriarchal guidance and ancestral memory

‘ if I speak of paradise then I’m speaking of my grandmother’

his identity is always with him but needs to be protected from the hostile world

‘who told me to carry it always on my person, concealed’