Away From Home Poem by Joshua Akinwande

(Journey to the East – Youth Service at Enugu State)

Here I am very cold
Lying by a lantern to warm up
Resting on a mat-like mattress that can only accommodate me
Right inside my apartment, a red –brick house
With a wooden window that stop nothing except itself
Everything passes through it without any restrain
A wooden door that stops no one from coming in

As it rains heavily
The thunder, lightning and wind are my uninvited guests
Their presence makes me fearful and lonely
Though they seem to entertain me as
The wind merry-go-round about me
The lightning flashes its teeth at me
And the thunder roars

This gets me thinking of home
In a land far from home I can’t stop singing
That childhood song, ‘oh my home, when shall I see you again? ’
And when it dawn on me that I have a couple of months to live in the East
I bring back my wandering mind
And encourage myself as David did
For I know that where my heart is, is actually home.

© 2009.