Somewhere in the Middle | Diksha Manglani

A few long hours ago, I was home.

Blue suitcases sat in the corner of my room,

waiting to be lugged 7,923 miles away.

Clothes covered the big bags clumsily but

they lay unaffected, incandescent in the mess,

Ready to go.

Opening the bag to make my last addition,

I saw a stream of clean colors,

among my puny prized possessions –

that silver teddy-bear photo frame

my brother bought me on my birthday,

and the old worn out pair of shoes

I couldn’t throw out even though I tried.

With me I’m taking,

my life for the next four months,

packed neatly in vibrant stacks

and much more within these blue bags.

Dragged from one land to another and back,

displaced from their space under my bed,

rushed through bumpy paths to different places

they believed were their desired destinations –

These bright blue bags are too foreign

for here and too different for home.

Stuck standing somewhere in the middle of

Hong Kong International Airport,

I can’t help but think –

Is it a coincidence that this lady by the gate

just told me they lost my suitcase?

Behind The Writing

“As an international student from India, I often find myself feeling confused and lost when it comes to my identity. When I go back home, it doesn’t feel quite feel like my own and when I’m back at school, it doesn’t quite feel like home. ‘Somewhere in the Middle’ is a poem about the conflicting feelings evoked in me every time I leave home.” –Diksha