K. Purna Padmaja (Diaspora Dual Identities)

K. Purna Padmaja

On The Run

Not by choice, nor in pursuit of dreams...
Amidst unrest and uncertainty
They flee their homelands in fear
Their eyes streaming with tears
Leaving behind all that they had ever known
and all that they once called their own
With just the clothes on their backs
and a few things in a bag
they run off to foreign lands
In search of a safe place
to live with dignity, security,
and simply just to stay alive.
They inch ahead with heavy hearts
laden with prints from the past,
They stand exposed as they stray
far away from the lands they stay

Walking on borrowed land
beneath a foreign sun
Hearts thudding, dreading detention
and vulnerable to exploitation,
They survive in morbid trepidation
in fear of deportation.
Facing anti-refugee xenophobia
They struggle and battle
a lot of apprehensions.
In shared silence they face
widespread human rights abuses and violations

With determination they
slowly begin to sow their dreams
and build new live styles.
Their accented voices
and words of their native tongue
slowly infused with trends
from this foreign land
Holding steadfast to the roots of their origins
they reach out to claim a future bright
Piecing together a patchwork
A quilt of joy and aching loss
in colors of hope bright
changing the landscape
of the land they now tread on.

As traditions mix, they build new lives,
Memories of childhood lands,
and customs left behind
they lovingly weave into stories lore
fondly handing them to future generations
to keep alive the love and bond

of all the lovely things of their past with these stories galore.

 

 

K Purna Padmaja is currently pursuing a PhD in Psychology. She has been engaged in literary pursuits through participation in plays, debates, extempore speaking and poetry reading since her school days. Her poems have been published in various print and online magazines and anthologies. She has initiated book reading and poetry reading clubs in her neighbourhood, thereby enriching the lives of the people around her. Purna Padmaja is passionate about helping people in need especially children, and she does this in myriad ways. Married to an Indian Forest Service Officer, she often travels with him, exploring the flora and fauna.

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Setu, April 2025