A Letter to Some Man...

Here are some selected poems and pieces of creative writing that are a product of a writing workshop series at the Migrants Resource Centre (Victoria, London) whom I volunteered for last year - all of these are written by migrants:

You Carry by Michael Tesfamariam

You carry with you all the glory and the beauty of the world. My eyes wide opened I stayed fixed on you. For a moment, rather an eternity - for I have lost all notion of time, your world was the only thing that the windows of mind, my eyes, allowed. 

      The glittering city was for you like the stars to the moon. You moved but I stayed inert.

Suddenly, the gentle touch of someone on the street woke me up from my dream. 

Trees by Joao Da Silva

When the men decided to destroy most of the beautiful trees (god regretted) 'Why did I make these guys?'

    We have tricks to make fun and God knows but he cannot believe.

We use the trees to make a house, to cross the highest river by chips, and to make million things and God just looks.

    We think that we are strong when we use the machine to cut the trees and god believes.

Years go and come but the bible still says 'stop and worship me'. 

    Without an instrument we are weaklings.

'Can I cut one more tree, please? Just to make a guitar for my spirit to be happy.' 

    And God sits down on his throne and says 'I am tired.'

The Day Before by Pierangelo Vidotto

I'm sitting beside his bed in a very comfortable chair. I have to stay there for a long time. 

    I'm holding his wet and cold hand. Our arms, along his side, are placed on a coarse fabric.

He is singing aloud in this silent white hospital room. War songs from his comradeship during the Second World War and often sung, in friendly meetings, with many drinks.

   On this night the other sufferers can't sleep and they as themselves why I'm not trying to silence him.

I can't stop his last voice, it is his way to say goodbye to this real world.