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Poems about immigration delve into the poignant experiences of leaving one’s homeland and starting anew in a foreign land. These verses capture the complexities of identity, culture, and the quest for belonging.
They may reflect on immigrants’ challenges, such as adapting to new environments, language barriers, and the longing for the familiar. Through empathetic storytelling, poets highlight the resilience and strength of individuals who embark on this journey, seeking a better life and opportunities for themselves and their families.
These poems foster understanding and compassion, bridging the gaps between cultures and celebrating the rich tapestry of human diversity.
‘Look We Have Coming to Dover’ offers a bleak but hopeful glimpse of England through the eyes of immigrants risking it all to become citizens.
Stowed in the sea to invade
the alfresco lash of a diesel-breeze
ratcheting speed into the tide, brunt with
gobfuls of surf phlegmed by cushy come-and-go
tourists prow'd on the cruisers, lording the ministered waves.
‘La Migra’ by Pat Mora is a unique poem about the plight of migrants and how, when you shift your perspective, the position of power changes substantially.
Let’s play La Migra
I’ll be the Border Patrol.
You be the Mexican maid.
I get the badge and sunglasses.
‘An Unknown Girl’ by Moniza Alvi depicts the poet’s intense connection with her native culture through an unknown girl in an Indian bazaar.
I’ll lean across a country
With my hands outstretched
Longing for the unknown girl
In the neon bazaar.
‘Go to Ahmedabad’ shows the psychological struggle of an immigrant dealing with disturbing past events and contemporary issues with newly developed views.
Go walk the streets of Baroda,
go to Ahmedabad
and step around the cow dung
but don’t forget to look at the sky.
‘The Émigrée’ by Carol Rumens explores the nuanced relationship that emigrants have with the countries they’ve left behind, clinging to overly idealized but sincere memories as a source of enduring love for the homes they’ve been exiled from.
There once was a country... I left it as a child
but my memory of it is sunlight-clear
for it seems I never saw it in that November
which, I am told, comes to the mildest city.
‘The Migrant’ by A. L. Hendriks is an emotional journey of a migrant. It deals with themes of fear and resilience.
She could not remember anything about the voyage,
Her country of origin, or if someone had paid for the passage.
Of such she had no recollection.
‘The Border Builder’ by Carol Rumens is a powerful poem about the inevitable construction of borders and how violent these areas of the world can become.
No sooner had one come down
Than he began building again.
My bricks, O my genuine bricks
Made of my genuine blood!
‘Name Journeys’ explores the dissolution of identity faced by a speaker estranged from both their heritage and language.
Like Rama I have felt the wilderness
but I have not been blessed
with a companion as sweet as she,
Sita; loyal, pure and true of heart.
Emma Lazarus’ ‘The New Colossus’ epitomizes the welcoming spirit of the Statue of Liberty, engraved on its pedestal to inspire millions.
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
‘Refugee Blues’ by Auden portrays the plight of Jews escaping Nazis, using imagery and blues rhythm to highlight themes of exile and despair.
Say this city has ten million souls,
Some are living in mansions, some are living in holes:
Yet there's no place for us, my dear, yet there's no place for us.
Once we had a country and we thought it fair,
‘At The Border, 1979’ contrasts adult optimism with a child’s realism during a family’s migration, questioning the notion of home.
'It is your last check-in point in this country!'
We grabbed a drink -
soon everything would taste different.
‘Lorry’ by Al Hafiz Sanusi depicts the ways that change can improve lives but also complicate and damage them. The poet uses the poem to discuss the need for better transportation standards for migrant workers.
The day will come
when you who have helped to build our nation
will finally
get to sit back
‘English con Salsa’ is a lively poem that blends humor, culture, and language, celebrating bilingual identity and the everyday power of speaking with pride and personality.
English as American as Benito Juarez.
Welcome, muchachos from Xochicalco,
learn the language of dolares and Dolores,
of kings and queens, of Donald Duck and Batman.
‘Exile’ by Julia Alvarez is a narrative depiction of the poet’s childhood memories of leaving the Dominican Republic for the United States.
The night we fled the country, Papi,
You told me we were going to the beach,
Hurried me to get dressed along with the others,
While posted at a window you looked out
‘Teeth’ by Jackie Kay explores the dehumanization and lasting trauma caused by Joy Gardner’s death, told through her mother’s grief and her child’s trauma.
This is X who has all her own teeth.
Her mother is horrified by this.Look into her mouth. She still has them.
Perfect pearls. Milk stones. Pure ivory.
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