I am not a refugee
It was made clear that night
Europeans, Americans, Asians, left sound
yet your own countryman received no mercy

That night I was not a refugee
I was your lack of a conscience
the outpouring of the scorn you held inside
double-locking the gate to the garden of humanity

I am not a refugee
I am a canvas that can be dyed any colour
my only crime
being a stranger in a new place

I am a refugee only on paper
warm, loving, iridescent in soul
I am no different to you
If you change your mind-set