What
to say to a refugee
by Mary M. Brown
by Mary M. Brown
“Home is the place
where, when you go there,
they have to take you in.” —Robert
Frost
Here
is
some water, some bread
and,
oh, some of Grandma’s
lentil
soup
Here
is the
bed you will sleep in,
and
this one for your son. If
you
need more blankets,
there
are some right
There
is a
fresh bar of soap
and a
light you can turn on—
see?—if
the night becomes
too
long
Here
is
where we will gather
when
we are all awake, have
eggs
and toast and talk
about
the future—yours
and
ours—
Here
is the
place we have all
come
together, the place we
will
learn together anew
to
call home
Bio: Mary M. Brown lives and writes in Anderson,
Indiana, a Hoosier not by birth but by long residence and disposition. She taught
literature and creative writing at Indiana Wesleyan for many years. Her work
appears on the Poetry Foundation and the American Life in Poetry websites and
has been published recently in Christian Century, The Cresset, Quiddity, and
Justice Journal.