A Journey

You are on the run

If you are not then you are locked in by barbed wires

As you watch your loved ones disappear one by one

You are helpless　

The soil beneath you is as hard as rock

And the food you get is only a hand full a day or less

You have fought like a brave warrior

But you have no home or land to return to

Your choices are to be persecuted or make a new life in the unknown

If you chose to make a new life

Then you have made the right choice

Even though there were rumors of hairy giants

Who are waiting to devour you in this foreign land

You are not easily deceived

Once you go you are leaving behind everyone you knew

And the daily life cycle of sleep, eat, and labor

When you arrive there is plenty of food and shelter

But you are alone

Every one speaks a foreign tongue

And you are alienated

Alone you try to understand their complex life

Learn their way of custom

But when you try you only become more barbaric in their eyes

The days become long and you look towards the sun

Thinking of home

That feeling starts creeping up to your heart

There are electrical volts at your fingers

And they send shocks to your heart

The rain starts to pour and becomes a waterfall

You have a kin a world away

And you can only pray that he is safe

You are lost

In a jungle of nameless faces with no one to share your pain

But do not forget that you have made a new life

Look forward and not backwards

There is a reason why you came

All you wanted was a gentle soft land

So you could grow your seeds to be strong and tall

So that they will prosper and succeed

When they bloom and mature

They’ ll understand

Hmong Community and Cutural Center 

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