EarlofMarch

I am nothing but a wanderer,

In this land,  in this land I pass through.

I may walk the same path as you,

But our lives, different will be.

Countless limbs in unison stand,

Yet solitary am I to remain.

I am nothing but a wanderer,

In this land, in this land I pass through.

In your books I am not to be found.

In your past, no mention of me.

In the songs of history sung,

Just a glimpse, a hidden story.

I am nothing but a wanderer,

In this land, in this land I pass through.

Tales of creation, a shadow am I,

When recalled, an outcast is found.

A hundred years may we live,

But together, never to be.

I am nothing but a wanderer

In this land, in this land I pass through.

I am no one but a wanderer,

In our land, I call your country.

Many of you may not know this, but I make up a small minority in this country I live in. Ethnically, physically, religiously, culturally, geographically – you name it, I’m different. It dawned on me recently that I will never be accepted in this country I call mine. Save for a few highly educated people, I am treated like a foreigner in  a country that insists that I should behave a particular way to be accepted. Very recently, a class mate of  mine asked me if I was from *insert racial slur* land because I knew a certain song. It was a popular American pop song and a lot of my friends were singing along to it in class. For some reason he thought that that ordinary action of mine warranted a racial slur.

I told him blankly that I found that offensive (no one should tolerate racism), but he told me “Yes, I am racist.” rather proudly – a response which caught me somewhat aback. Here was a highly educated, upper class person, a human with all the educational exposure a person could dream of in a country like mine, and he was unabashedly clear about his position.

I was the “uncool” person for not being able to take it with a pinch of salt.

That aside, it made me realize that I will never be accepted in this country.

Unfortunately, once a minority, always a minority. I wrote this little song-poem as a result of that experience!