Rachel

'I've come from the place of go back to where you came from

From unmarked graves and stinking camps

From seas that wanted to swallow me

And prisons that wanted to disappear me

From places other people will travel to

With travel blogs, and itineraries highlighted in fluorescent Sharpies,

and Instagram accounts that show how they "found themselves"

In places some people are allowed to visit

While others are never allowed to leave.

The exotic are a short drive up the road

Postcodes vending an experience of elsewhere

But without the frequent flyer points and itinerary

They are just ghettos

When you feel like a dandelion

Just a wish from being blown away

When you feel like a spice

Just a sprinkle of flavour to your taste

When you feel like a souvenir

In a bazaar of identity that peddles fear

You feel

That you must carve yourself out of resistance

But then some people showed me:

That anger is good

But with action it is better

That remembering is good

But with hope it is better

That change is good

But with discovery it is better

That questioning is good

But with trust it is better

That resisting is good

But sometimes those you resist do not matter

And that standing up is good

But standing up alongside others is better.'