Noisily he made his haggard way
down the corridor to the departure gate
a gimp exuding anger.
Taking a seat he announced under his breath
audible for those near to hear
that he had traveled halfway round the world.
Expecting welcoming attention for his emigrant status
or even an inquiry of where he had come from
indifference greeted his smouldering announcement
stoking his unresolved anger of having had to leave home.
Now, needing a welcome there was none.
He felt a reject
just a number robbed of selfhood
trying to grapple with loss and change
between Australia and an Ireland that
he imagined was home
but no longer was.
Columban Fr. Bobby Gilmore lives and works in Ireland.
The Columbans are a society of missionaries, including priests and lay people, who minister to people of various cultures as a way of witnessing to the universal love of God.