----------
Last night
Father left home
And didn't come back
Mother and Father
Fought
and
Fought
Last night
For what felt like days
Why would they fight?
I thought
As I pretended to play
While listening to their
Serious and tense voices
As they discussed
"Adult stuff"
We don't know where father went
Kidnapped
Murdered
Lost
The thoughts raced
Through my frightened mind
When I get home
From classes
Mother has prepared an altar
In hopes for him to come home
In hopes that he is safe
She displays his portrait
On the altar
Taken last fall
How peaceful he looks
Smiling
Creases at the corners
Of his bright eyes
Each of us close our eyes
Wish
And hope
He will come home
Everything on the altar
Remains for the rest of the night
Knock* Knock*
The door says
Mother jumps
As she holds us
She slowly rises
From her state of rest
She walks
To the dark brown
Noisy
Door
She gasps
It's not father
It's a different man
He tells mother
That father is dead
I inhale
The dusty air
From our
Old residence
Sister Nahla
Covers my mouth
I shield my eyes
Sleep
Her whispers calm me
It's just a dream
Father is okay
He will come home
Soon
Very soon
YOU ARE READING
The Journey Home
PoetryIn this strikingly touching poem journal, follow the journey of a young afghan refugee, Ajani. As time passes in Kabul, Afghanistan, the capital and the city which she was born and raised in, she struggles to find serenity for her and her family. Th...
