LITERATURE

Belonging

Poetry

Author selfie on the Irish Sea, somewhere between the UK and Ireland

Neither here nor there
Does the immigrant belong
Betwixt and between, searching for meaning
Scouting out fertile ground, these roots
Scrabbling for a piece of land

The old sod is wet and green, wet and green
Inhabitants are largely open hearted
Different scenes now to the 80s and the 90s
Cars, roads, and houses
Cars, roads, and houses

Forty shades of envy
Comparing and contrasting
The Celtic tiger dream insisting:
Heteronormative marriage and
High performing children required

I remember gossip engineered to shame my sex
Though early exploits were pre-determined
A rural community crafts a scarlet letter
With a sleight of hand, the predators vanish
Is that why I ran?

Here I slip into an unmarked skin
Inherited straitjacket loosed on the way
Haunting offers affinity to my chosen family
Still, my gender’s a bitch in patriarchy
So I’m wary of sticky sexual stereotypes