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Student Work: “My Story” by Robel Haile

My Story

by Robel Haile

I wanna tell you a story
Of myself
I’m a person who is hungry
Hungry with a big dream
Dream like the American dream
“The African Dream”
Peace, peace, and peace
My dreams are heading back to home
Heading back to the East
To the origin of Lucy and Selam
To the origin of culture and people
Where my ancestors grave
Where my umbilical cord is buried
To the Horn of Africa
Lakomenza, Abyssinia
Land of Habesha

I wanna tell you a story
Of myself
My life in foreign land
Where it seems a happy land
But it’s not like that
Not like my native land
What is wrong with me?
This is my home too
But I don’t call it home yet
It’s cold and dark
I look through the mirror
What is written on my face?
I see soul and faith
And I look through my colored skin
I see my heart is pumping
Blood that is mixed with
Mississippi and Blue Nile
But I can tell which is which
I look down to the bottom
I think about myself
How I look when I walk
I try to show no emotion
No weakness at all

I wanna tell you a story
Of myself
I’m in 97217
My people are back in Agergizat
That’s what I call home
If I started missing my people
Who are back home
Nostalgia would kill me
Right now my body is resting
Lost in the deepest part of the delightful night
My night and my dreams
Far far away…

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