Homesick

‘Are you homesick?’ she asks, every time I call.
‘No, I’m not,’ I say, not homesick at all.
This here is my home since our baby was small
Her life measured in inches on my bright kitchen wall.
‘There’s really not much to miss,’ I say
Apart from you, Ma, who live so far away.
We have the telephone though, we talk everyday
And it’s here in Glasgow I choose to stay.
Where folk are friendly and full of cheer
Needing fish ‘n chips with lots of beer.
The only thing I don’t like here
Is the dratted rain all ‘round the year.

‘Are you homesick?’ they ask if I’m deep in thought.
‘I’m not homesick,’ I reply, truly I’m not.
This here is my home, this house we bought
In the land we love, where we’ve cast our lot
With the Lochs, the Ochs, the Bonnie Lasses,
The Glens, the Hens, the Irn Bru glasses.
The football matches with heaving masses,
The Christmas presents with concert passes.
People in queues always up for a chat.
In buses and trains, we chew the fat
About the weather, the world, the neighbour’s cat,
And strangers become friends, just like that.

Am I homesick? I ask myself, once I’m alone with me
When winter evenings don’t know what-o’clock to be.
I’m not sure, I whisper, but I do yearn to see
Bougainvillaea bushes and a ripe mango tree.
Wall-to-wall sunshine ten months around
Then smell the monsoon as it thunders down
On parched earth, all cracked and brown.
But these longings, I quickly drown
As I think of the love, I have in my heart
For my forever-home, where I work on my art.
My two worlds may be oceans apart
But I’m never homesick, as I’ve said from the start.

12 Comments

  1. Soul touching. The choice of words, the flow of your poem and most importantly your emotions behind it are beyond my appreciation….. keep going. Its simply wonderful

  2. We all yearn for our home which you have defined so beautifully. Reading this made me nostalgic and think deeply. Keep writing more of these gems.

    1. I read it once again in my own peaceful moment. Felt so proud of you when I opened your website for the first time to read your poem. Beautifully penned and the depth of your thoughts touched my heart once again. Keep writing and keep creating such wonderful poems.

  3. This poem sounds like my life, minus the beer! I was born and raised in South Surrey/White Rock, British Columbia, Canada and moved to Calgary, Alberta in 2019. I left half my family behind and now live closer to the other half. It was hard to leave my mother, my best friend and fellow troublemaker. Thank God for unlimited nation-wide calling, lol. I love this poem, it speaks to the separation we all feel, pre covid and present. Thank you for sharing. <3

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