INEP, ENEM

Things We Carry on the Sea We carry tears in our eyes: good-bye father, good-bye [mother We carry soil in small bags: may home never fade in our [hearts We carry carnage of mining, droughts, floods, genocides We carry dust of our families and neighbors incinerated [in mushroom clouds We carry our islands sinking under the sea We carry our hands, feet, bones, hearts and best minds [for a new life We carry diplomas: medicine, engineer, nurse, [education, math, poetry, even if they mean [nothing to the other shore We carry railroads, plantations, laundromats, [bodegas, taco trucks, farms, factories, nursing [homes, hospitals, schools, temples... built on [our ancestors’ backs We carry old homes along the spine, new dreams in our [chests We carry yesterday, today and tomorrow We’re orphans of the wars forced upon us We’re refugees of the sea rising from industrial wastes And we carry our mother tongues [...] As we drift... in our rubber boats... from shore... to shore... [to shore...

PING, W. Disponível em: https://poets.org. Acesso em: 1 jun. 2023

(fragmento). Ao retratar a trajetória de refugiados, o poema recorre à imagem de viagem marítima para destacar o(a)