As I look out the window,
I see my parents waving goodbye,
What must be going through their minds, I wander,
Yet again, my heart feels heavy, my eyes begin to tear,
How I wish I could stay just a little longer.

As I look out the window,
I admire the beautiful hills, grass, and greens,
So much potential my land has,
I think to myself,
If only I had a chance,
To contribute to its advance.

As I look out the window,
The words of many ring in my ears,
“Don’t ever come back”,
“The grass is greener on the other side”,
Little do they know,
The pain, the suffering, the daily struggle,
That I go through in silence, without a mumble.

As I look out the window,
My destination approaches,
Slogging in a foreign land,
Was never a willful decision,
How I wish I could come home for good,
And be united with friends and family,
And most of all, exercise my filial duties.

As I look out the window,
Green turns to blue, land turns to sea,
I, like many others,
Returned to exercise our democratic rights,
Our hearts filled with hope,
For a better life, a better future,
For us and for our children,
But once again, our fate hangs in the balance,
In the hands of our political masters,
Some honest, some treacherous,
Playing their game of tug-of-war,
With the innocent people as their rope.

As I look out the window,
I see my land in the distance,
A sliver of hope remains etched in my heart,
That one day I will be able to return to my land,
And never have to part with it again.

Published in Anak Sastra, Issue 50, January 2023
https://anaksastra.com/current-issue.html