Hopes in ropes

By Ashraf Mbonimpa

My life is uncertain as the tides in the sea

 

Just like the birds flying in the sky, I can’t get hold of my dreams

 

Lost a place I called home

 

To a “home” where I thought  that all will be well. 

 

But it all turned out that nothing feels well anymore

 

Just like the clouds floating high

 

I feel so cold, like the dews on top of the mountains

 

I thought I was safe

 

But people around me die everyday because of insecurities

 

It feels like the eclipse of the moon  

 

It’s dark everywhere 

 

I keep asking myself– when will the stars twinkle in my moonless night?

 

It’s like being a refugee is a curse 

 

Because it’s not logical to grow up in a refugee camp until you get old

 

To a point where you smell death at your doorstep 

 

My life is like a whistling wind in the desert

 

Swept away from its roots

 

I have nothing to hold on to

 

Because all I have left are hopes in ropes

 

Tied to the loose ends of my miserable life

 

Towards the broken pieces of my broken spheres

 

A refugee with no progress

 

Just like a kite flying in the sky with no strings 

30 July, 2023