This is My House

This is my house, and you are a guest in it.
Please - leave when you are no longer welcome .......
I will have no hesitation in using force -
Beneath my smile lies
Fear
And
Hate.

This is my house: it needs rebuilding -
I value you
For your skills:
But without those skills
You
Are
Nothing.

This is my house: you are not welcome,
Yet my morality insists that you stay -
But
Only
One
At
A
Time.

This is my house: we are friends,
And you can stay forever -
But only because
We
Are
Friends.

This is my house: we are brother and sister.
You are most welcome.
Live here and join our family.
We will argue: we will love: but most of all
We
Will
Live.

This is my house. Next door is another house.
I have been in that other house.
That other house is part of my street.
It is a nice house.
I
Like
My
Street.

Dec.00



If you liked this, you'll definitely like
this powerful poem from John Irvine about immigrant children

And here's one from the immigrant's point of view by Shirley Geok-lin Lim called Riding Into California



ABOUT THE POEM

You can call immigrants 'guests', because when you've had enough of a 'guest' you can blame the 'guest' if they don't leave.

As a population ages or declines, immigrants with skills become increasingly valuable, but it's the skills that are valued.

Some countries are aware that they have a moral obligation to other peoples but they help in the most mean-spirited and small minded ways possible.

Some countries treat immigrants wonderfully IF they're in the right racial group e.g. if they're renowned for starting their own businesses or there's an alliance between nations.

Maybe one day everyone will be valued for themselves.



Here in the UK we're shits when it comes to refugees and asylum seekers, though ordinary people are better than our so-called 'leaders'.




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