Prisoner

A family moves out of the circle. 

While the young man is still haunted by contradictions. 

This is how the young man describes it. The kind of phrasing shall give you an idea how much he despises the previous circle, where he metaphorically calls himself a prisoner of the Rouge.

Each member of the family tries to go out of the place they never consider a long-time world. NO, he is not making a heck of intellect out of it.

This is an account, which neither tries to overstretch nor to create nuisance out of the phenomenon of moving out. The young man finds it unnecessary to tell the entire story. But one thing’s for sure, he feels the urgency to share a family experience – being away from the homeland, while struggling to "rationalize" the effects of an outward decision they are all up to.

They are foreign nationals and the young man, who now experiences the fate of his older sister of being unemployed for a year, has yet to face a big decision that will surely make a huge impact for and in his life.

For some men, turning twenty one is something to look forward to. It is worth a thousand cheers. It may mean liberation from the two confining decades. But for this young man, turning twenty one is more than a debut thing. It marks the end of his legal right to stay in what he considers a lair of nothingness, at least for now.

He hasn't enjoyed the Yuletide, though he has enough time to take pleasure of the illusory concept of White Christmas. 

For him, stepping outside to experience the whiteness of Christmas only offers nothing but wind chill. Everyone has the choice to romanticize snowman-making. Seeing the winter snow sliding against the window seems to give a non-lasting impression – a mere window-glancing experience with hopelessness.

In October, the mother of the young man found a job in the West Coast. This job was taken the hard way – the real hard way. Being a teacher in a foreign land gives a license to deal with multiculturalism, and of course, racism. 

The family’s former place is described as a forgotten city. Historical tablets corner after corner and landmarks everywhere. The place too, is a product of race conflict between the White and the Black.

According to old folks, the city called Petersburg was once dominated by White natives. After the intrusion of Black people, White people started to feel a degree of discomfort and decided to abandon the place. That event meant the death of trade, commerce, industry and of the entire city.

Traces include the elements of urban decay – window glass theory, deserted houses, old buildings and institutions and other things which make the city dreary and gray. If these mean no opportunities for Americans, so much more for the young man’s family.

The young man’s heart is in an indeterminate state. 

  

In a Foreign Land

HE, who…

composed a nationalistic youth song saying serve the nation, now in a foreign land

supports anti-imperialism, now in “that foreign land”

took a degree infusing nationalist goals, now in a foreign land

studied for homeland’s underdevelopment, now in a foreign land

studied alternative development strategies for homeland, now in a foreign land

is conscious of committing all of these, yet in a foreign land

By sending these thoughts, he realized a set of total paradox – the young man in what people perceive as the land of milk and honey. He can't really tell if his name and the place go in one sense.