“I will return” - By Lapieh Landu *

The screeching of the birds remind me
Of the only place that I was nurtured in
A place so beautiful
A locale so preserved
So peaceful
Utterly tranquil
I wave goodbye to you still
My home

It was becoming clear now
That I was parting
For nature bid farewell
As the ocean waved
The sun set and
The rain cried
I wave goodbye to you still
My home

As journey took us far
The deep swathe of trees vanished
Our petite huts departed
Our winged friends returned to their abodes,
As I moved further
I wave goodbye to you still
My home

Migration can sometimes be problematic

My heart splinters in tiny pieces
As realization sinks in
No more sunshine, no more sak- sak
In exile I will be
Elsewhere in a foreigner’s terrain
Reserved and estranged
I wave goodbye to you still
My home

Here I am standing
In a place I have none
No land, no friend, no garden
They look at me
With eyes of the eagle
And tongues of the Moran
I wave goodbye to you still
My home

I cannot return now
For a distance I have traveled
To see this promised land
That dim dim had painted
Where knowledge was endless
And happiness so infinite
I wave goodbye to you still
My home

I sit now among them
One of them I’ve become
Accustomed to their ways
A slave to their goodness
I miss you still

When I look beyond the horizon
I know where I came from
And will soon return

* Lapieh Landu is a student at Divine Word University, Madang, PNG.

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