Suffocate

by Yakari Gabriel   Jul 10, 2012


Aruba has grown,
this morning I woke up
and found that she's no
longer a naive little girl.

Aruba is a woman now.

her rights are as untouchable
as Adele's vocals, her arms
smell like men, and I find
I don't want to be in her
presence anymore.

Aruba is setting
boundaries for me now.
I'm trapped between sea
and land.

I never thought,
I'd feel so homeless,
somewhere I've been all my life.

Aruba, I never thought
you'd grow to hate me-

.. I never thought I'd be here,
asking myself what my homeland
feels like.

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Latest Comments

  • 12 years ago

    by Lioness

    To feel like you're not welcome at home - the one place you should :(

    Sad write but I love this poem.

    So honest and raw

    x

  • 12 years ago

    by Decayed

    I kind of like everything about this poem, from the beginning till the very end. I feel really attached to any poem about homeland. It's a point of weakness. Nostalgia can kill sometimes.
    I never knew before that there is a country called 'Aruba', but I can feel that you are deeply rooted beneath its soil. I respect those who are faithful to their country, emotionally. I like how you personified your country as a young girl growing up, and from here I can infer that you mean that Aruba has changed after you came home back again. When I reached Adele's part, I smiled; I didn't feel it was necessary to incorporate her in this way, but because I know that you love her, I can feel that it should be incorporated in here since it reflects how your country is important to you, too.

    Yaki, you are a realistic poetess, and those are rare to find in here. You do not go abstract, and that's why I like to read your pieces because I feel that there is YOU in there, not your imagination, but YOU, physically and emotionally. So Kudos for that. The part about describing your country as men was awesome. I know you don't love them, and your usage for that in here was another brilliant thing to do. Aruba, as men, became repulsive to your lust and senses.

    I think you don't live in Aruba, as I can infer from the last part, and when you came back, you think you do not belong there..... people have changed... their minds, too..... but maybe it's due to the long time you have been outside? You just need some time to mingle with your folk and blend in their ways of living.

    I know people like you, too, who came back home after a long time and found it hard to adapt, AT FIRST only... but then, they found their roots again.

    Quite a mesmerizing, nostalgic write.
    Bravo.

  • 12 years ago

    by Poet on the Piano

    I felt so dispirited when reading this piece because you put so much emotion in it, like the strength you used to feel for your homeland, that feeling of pride and maybe even companionship that used to be? Great part about Adele, that's so true, an untouchable voice, that was neat to connect that into your poem. I loved how you expressed these thoughts, so raw and wishing there wasn't a change, saying Aruba was becoming a woman now, that there are ways about her you don't understand or can't be with now, 'cause now there are boundaries, enclosures, uncertainties. And there's that image of feeling trapped, choked, or wanting to.

    Really moving, and mournful piece in my eyes. Well-penned.

    Aruba is blessed to have someone like you living there, even if it doesn't realize it anymore. :]

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