Things We Carry on the Sea

We carry tears in our eyes: good-bye father, good-bye
       [mother
We carry soil in small bags: may home never fade in our
       [hearts
We carry carnage of mining, droughts, floods, genocides
We carry dust of our families and neighbors incinerated
       [in mushroom clouds
We carry our islands sinking under the sea We carry our hands, feet, bones, hearts and best minds
       [for a new life
We carry diplomas: medicine, engineer, nurse,
       [education, math, poetry, even if they mean
       [nothing to the other shore
We carry railroads, plantations, laundromats,
       [bodegas, taco trucks, farms, factories, nursing
       [homes, hospitals, schools, temples... built on
       [our ancestors’ backs
We carry old homes along the spine, new dreams in our
       [chests
We carry yesterday, today and tomorrow
We’re orphans of the wars forced upon us
We’re refugees of the sea rising from industrial wastes
And we carry our mother tongues
[...]
As we drift... in our rubber boats... from shore... to shore...
       [to shore...

PING, W. Disponível em: https://poets.org. Acesso em: 1 jun. 2023 (fragmento).

Ao retratar a trajetória de refugiados, o poema recorre à imagem de viagem marítima para destacar o(a)