Phoenix

my caption

I grow into my shoes

And I learn something new

I  visit these places

Expanding my view

If somebody asks me

What I did while away

I’ll say “I breathed deeply

For once—you should too”

.

And these eyes start to see

Beyond the mountains and seas

There’s a whole earth to explore

Just waiting for me

Beyond the shallow thinking

Of unknowing minds

My homeland is sinking

That’s not who I will be

.

I want to hear more

Than the deafening roar

Of disharmony and violence

Trying to “even the score”

I’d like to grow wings

Become a bird

I’ll do real things

And away I’ll soar

.

I never thought you could grow

By disrupting the flow

My roots were set deep

The only way to show

Us, was leaving

Leaving our home

I spent my time not agreeing

But now I know

.

We can’t sit and yearn

But by taking a turn

We see through other eyes

It’s the best way to learn

I feared flying higher

I didn’t want to leave

But amidst the fire

I didn’t burn

Inspiration

I was in the park (now one of my favorite places to write poetry), and I was reflecting on… well, everything this year had been teaching me. Especially this little realisation I’d had—our home is not just the place we grow up, or where we settle during our lifetime. The whole earth is our home. And I have the intention of exploring my home, now that I know how wonderful it is to see the world through different perspectives.

Explanation

The rhyming structure is a bit different in this poem. It goes: AABACDCA. I wanted to do a different pattern for a different point of view I’m experiencing. Anyway—

“I’ll say, ‘I breathed deeply

For once—you should too’”

By “breathed deeply”, I mean that I saw a bigger perspective, I wasn’t… suffocated by little views. And everyone should. Everyone should have that chance.

“Beyond the shallow thinking

Of unknowing minds

My homeland is sinking

That’s not who I will be”

I think that it’s terrible to not have geography in school until high school. And yet, that’s how it is in the US. Before we came to Europe, I didn’t know that Spain was in Europe, I didn’t really know that Central America existed, I thought Greece wasn’t a country anymore, and I couldn’t situate any country on a map for the life of me. This is all very embarrassing to admit, and you are all probably gasping in shock. ;) But sadly, it’s the truth. My thinking was very shallow in relation to the world. And that’s not the only thing that the US is doing wrong. I refuse to be a part of that thinking anymore.

“But amidst the fire

I didn’t burn”

The title of this poem is Phoenix. I intended for the title to add to the poem, not deliberately saying it but the title making it apparent. These lines say that I didn’t burn in the fire—the “fire” being this year. But add the title, and it means that I didn’t just not burn in the fire—I was born anew.

Thanks for reading! If you like this, check out more of my poetry posts!