Ode to the Nameless Immigrant

By AC

Ode to you:
He, who seeks a better tomorrow
He, who is willing to leave in the past
All that he ever knew to be true,
All of the things, the faith, the hope and the dreams
That fit tightly in a backpack
As a souvenir
Of a life that just wasn’t meant to be lived

Ode to you, my dear:
She, who stares at death in the face
And says in a barely audible voice
Drowned by the cries and the tears:
No, I cannot be afraid
I cannot die, you see
Not now, not here, not today
As she keeps walking further and farther
Right through the hurt of all that she has known
She walks off the pain
And speaks once again:
I have children to feed
I have people I love
Who possess desires and needs
I must forge ahead on this path to the future
On this path where I’ve left
The tears I could shed
The sweat I could sweat
And the blood I could bleed

Ode to you, beloved:
Ode to the nameless immigrant,
Citizen of the future
Resident of today,
Who fights for a chance in the place
Where the milk and the honey
Simply flow down the street
A place that we know as the home of the brave
A place that we know as the land of the free

Good luck, happy trails, on your way getting here

May the weight of the heat from the sun
Caress your soft face with a touch that is gentle
Instead of pushing you down as you grasp for dear air
May the strength of the waters that run through the rivers
Keep you afloat long enough
For you to comprehend that there is hope
For you to see that your dreams
Were nourished enough to survive
All the tests, all the trials
All the ups and all the downs

It is people like you that we need
It is people like you
A trailblazer, a pathfinder
A true worker of lands
Who harvest the seed of faith that he plants
A warrior of sorts who knows no defeat
Who is unable to grasp the meaning that hides just beneath
The senseless definition of words such as quit

It is you who we need

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9 Comments

  1. Justin Lambert on July 11, 2022 at 11:03 AM

    I had a great time reading this because of how it paints the topic of immigration in a much different light than what we see in the media. The assertion by some people that immigration brings in many threats from outside is such an odd stance because this country breeds plenty of threats within its own borders. I always thought of it was people simply trying to attain a better life fro themselves, not at all different from the many immigrants that this country taken in over the past few centuries.

  2. Heather Daley on July 14, 2022 at 9:05 PM

    This is so beautifully written! Reading this brought me back to my AP English class and annotating famous poems. I love your message of perseverance, but also recognizing the pain along the way. The line “the senseless definition of words such as quit” is definitely my favorite statement in this story. There is no definition to stopping when you have so many responsibilities and loved ones.

  3. Bayley on August 15, 2022 at 11:26 AM

    It’s particularly emotional in the lines that you talk about a mother that has to keep moving forward. I really enjoyed this poem

  4. Serena on October 10, 2022 at 6:38 PM

    Beautiful depictions of the people brave enough to leave all they know behind for a chance at a better life. The hardships they face are unimaginable, from the process of becoming an American citizen to the discrimination and hate they’re likely to be subjected to by people too willfully ignorant to understand. My None are more determined or hardworking than those who were willing to start over entirely from the ground up.
    My stepmother is currently incarcerated, she immigrated here from India when she was 17 to escape an abusive situation all alone and she’s faced discrimination daily, even from people who were supposed to be her friends. She still suffers from what she went through in her home country and that’s contributed to why she’s incarcerated now, and I honestly believe if she had been a white citizen born here that her sentence would’ve been much lighter or non existent. She wanted a better life for herself, was caught in another abusive situation, and now she’s paying for something that she had to do to survive it. Her story is not uncommon.
    Thank you for sharing your kind thoughts and perspective, I’m wishing you the best today.

    S

  5. Nico on November 26, 2022 at 11:18 AM

    Gotta keep moving forward, never skulk on our past but build ourselves from our mistakes. Immigrants’ hardships in trying to make a living in a new country are unfortunate. But you gotta keep fighting and working for your family’s future. This poem was amazing!

  6. Emily on November 27, 2022 at 10:05 PM

    Immigration is hard for all those people. The way you perfectly described the hardships of leaving your home country is impeccable. It must be so hard for men and women to leave everything they ever knew. These people are smart and kind people who are overshadowed by their actions. Great job!

  7. eleni on February 5, 2023 at 4:04 PM

    This is such a beautiful poem. I think this poem is so empowering. The way this author speaks about immigrants is just so beautiful and empowering. America is a place where so many people dream of moving to in order to escape the hardships they face in other parts of the world where life is nothing like the lives we are so blessed to live in America. I think there is such a negative connotation around immigration recently, and it breaks my heart. All these people want is a better life for themselves and their families. People come here from all over the world in hopes of working hard and living a better life, and they are often faced with racism and prejudice. The way many people view immigrants in this country is so unfair and needs to change. This poem is amazing and I’m sure it would make many people feel so seen and understood. This is my favorite poem I have read on Free Minds thus far. Thank you for seeing immigrants as people who just want a better life rather than the horrible things some people think of them. Amazing and very moving poem.

  8. Moira on February 28, 2023 at 8:52 PM

    AC,

    This is a beautiful and moving poem. It balances the sadness of life with the hope for the future well — I especially loved the line “The senseless definition of words such as quit.” It is so very true that the power we give to words like ‘quit’ is what makes them sad or meaningful – to decide to push past what is prescribed to us as members of society allows us to push through and emerge as better people. I am wishing you the best, and I hope you yourself do not give any meaning to the word ‘quit’.

    M

  9. RB on March 27, 2023 at 1:08 PM

    Great poem! Very powerful. I really loved your writing style, it effectively conveys the message of the hardworking immigrant. Furthermore I liked how you included that we need immigrants and painted them in a good light.

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