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Describing the arrival lounge of a foreign airport where a distinctive group of migrants, the "black sea," is noticeable.

The continuous influx of migrants resembling a black sea.

Depicting the waves of migrants arriving at the foreign shore.

The migrants arriving with hope, seeking a better future.

Refers to a desperate attempt by migrants to cleanse themselves from a history they want to forget.

Expressing a desire to forget a painful history associated with their homeland.

Comparing the migrants to the sea and hinting at its cyclical nature.

Suggesting that the sea, like life, absorbs its own challenges and experiences.

The black sea of migrants recedes, indicating a temporary return or reflection.

Depicting a moment of reflection with outstretched palms and a returning tide.

People turning away from recognizing their roots or home due to a negative association.

Suggesting a negative perception of home as something to be forgotten or escaped.

The narrator promises to remind others of their home, preserving memories.

Using vivid imagery, the narrator pledges to leave lasting memories like tribal marks.

Expressing the intention to uncover and reveal the layers that define a person.

Listing various aspects of a person's identity that may have changed in a foreign land.

Your fake accents

Your nice jewelry

Your children, who do not know the taste of fresh-spun proverbs

Your early morning runs

Your midnight snacks

The ever-present assurance that everything will be ok

Asserting that things won't be okay despite attempts to escape or forget.

They will never be ok

Highlighting the persistence of memories and identity despite attempts to escape.

How many skins you wear

How many memories you bury in the quicksands of time

The narrator will continue to remind others of their home, emphasizing persistence.

Reminding you of home

Evoking specific memories of home with references to a ram and a tortoise.

Of the tortoise that rode the back of the elephant and dined in the skies

Pose questions about self-identity and connection to cultural roots.

Do you remember why we sing when we take her children back into the belly of Ani

Raising questions about cultural practices and their significance.

Do you remember why we mark our bodies with chalk

And call our full names when we speak?

Challenging the person's knowledge of their identity and origin.

Or did you drop out of the ocean?

Imagery of a difficult journey and struggle to reach a foreign land.

As you crawled your way to a foreign land?

Questioning if the person has adopted a new identity or language.

Do you answer to a new name now?

Asking if the person has rejected or disrespected memories of their home.

Do you spit on the memories of your home

Questioning the person's connection to family and roots.

Do you still know your roots?

Asking if the person remembers their home or has never known it.

Stating traditional beliefs and challenging reliance on foreign practices.

Igwe is the heavens

And you can’t find Chi by reading tea leaves

Rejecting the idea that home is just a destination; it resides within.

Home is not a destination on a tour map,

Encouraging the person to embrace and visibly display their home in their heart and on their skin.

So hang it on your sleeves

Carve it on your skin

Suggesting a proud affirmation of one's cultural identity and heritage.

Look them in the eye and say

Providing examples of traditional names to be proudly embraced.

Amadi,

Nwa Afo,

Or just tell them your name.