I Am ( a poem to mark refugee week 15-21 June)

                                                         

                                                    
I am everyman, I am every woman
every current, every breeze,
I am in exile, looking for home
I am universal, a citizen of the world,
I am no trespasser, I come in peace
I am the colour of rainbows,
I drift among a mass of people
seeking refuge, carried on storms,
I am a witness of a world of poverty and war
I was born into revolution, turmoil and strife,
in rubble to the sound of bullets and explosions
my neighbours are dead, my friends are lost,
my homes have been  plundered, my wells emptied
I have escaped persecution and oppression,
I am in search of freedom and hope
but I am refused, and given no welcome,
I am vilified and abused, told to shut my mouth
I ride waves of persistence, move in many directions,
I am the blood and soil of humanity
I carry the kiss of different languages tonque,
I arrive with the weight of dignity
I have fled sleepless and anquished nights,
I am a world of belief and struggle
moving onwards with  memory and survival,
my voice  rings out on all continents
I am an endless  river, releasing the flow of endurance,
I am tired, but will  not be silenced or confined anymore
I am a dream that never ever fades.