I never knew their hunger
Or their need for a better life
I don’t know the language my father spoke
The beauty of the lands he saw
The clean air and clear waters he felt
The lessons he was to teach…
I’m burning deep within
Hungry now not for food or survival
But for a feeling
A weight to ground me
A mountain to leap from
Shouting “I understand!”
In slow motion
Laughing the whole way down
As I float
He’ll be there
To hug me,
Smiling,
Laughing,
Taking me to Coney Island.
The dream of a knock on the door
I’ll be 5
Waiting for my Dad to come home
My Brother will be 15
My Sisters 16 and 17
My Mother still healthy and beautiful
We can all play together
In 1G
The small living room
In Brooklyn.
I would love this
I would pray for this
It wouldn’t matter where I landed.

- Afrim Gjonbalaj (2005*)