STUDENT VOICES: a Poem on Learning from Students from Around the World

Anum Hossain is a third-year student on the Graduate Programme in Islamic Studies and Humanities (GPISH). In our first Student Voices blog of 2022, she shares a poem inspired by hearing the stories of her diverse cohort, “Show Me Your Hometown”.  

One of the aspects of the GPISH programme that I have truly loved is being able to interact with students from all around the world, to hear their stories and learn from them. Living in Victoria Halls has provided a beautiful atmosphere for me to learn about other cultures and ways of being, which I have enjoyed very deeply.  

I started writing poetry in high school, and was really happy to learn more about this topic during the “Art, Literature and Religion” course during my second year of GPISH. I wrote this poem as a tribute to all of my fellow students who have opened up to me and shared different parts of their lives with me, through conversation, music and spending time together. As my time being a GPISH student slowly comes to an end, I reflect on all of the beautiful moments that I have shared with peers and I feel deep gratitude within my heart and soul to have had this wonderful opportunity! 

Show Me Your Hometown 

Show me your hometown
Your eyes shine as you recall those days 
Spent by rivers, among the mountains, in concrete jungles 
The story and speaker varies but the emotion stays the same. 

Paint me a dazzling picture 
Your eyes brighten and your smile widens with each tale 
The icy wind on your face, 
The sunny beach breeze in your hair, 
The call of the looming mountains. 

Sing for me your inner melodies 
Your eyes close and your voice rises 
I’ve lost you now to your hidden dimensions 
Each tune carrying notes of a different world. 

Share with me your pain 
Your eyes glaze over 
Memories of a lost parent, loved ones fighting in wars, 
Sickness and strife, an unshared love, missed opportunities 
Things which could never be.  

Describe your yearning for what remains  
Your eyes light with affection 
For all which you hold dear back home 
One cannot help but to feel the love you hold. 

Invite me to your memories 
In these moments 
Entangled in recollections of the past 
Stories shared between what exists beyond flesh and bone 
Our souls become one.

~show me your hometown