Twelve (١٢) definitions of home in the mouth of a refugee
by Abdulbasit Oluwanishola
a journalist asks a man what a home means,
it only takes a minute before the cloud hovers in the man’s eyes.
home is my father’s forehead—a fruitful site for a bullet to rest, before my birth. ١
home is a day-old-child nurturing dyspnea at birth. ٢
home is the unripe fruits sickled from their comfort room—tree. ٣
home is Al-Shati Camp—an origin of children of 1992. ٤
home is just the number of hours the sea flows before turning into a blood sink. ٥
home is the picture of people searching for their relatives amidst massacres. ٦
home is a mother called to identify her star amongst the shooted stars. ٧
home is the hive of the bees stinging others with no remorse. ٨
home is a marabou stork stocking the carrions of another city in his belly. ٩
home is the face flaming when preceding s to other’s laughter. ١٠
home is the boy who cultivates hope in the lines of his palm. ١١
home is my grandfather’s pharynx resurrecting memories. ١٢