Exile

Exile is like being shipwrecked,
torn from your roots,
shorn of your identity,
thrown into destinations unknown.

Exile is a leveller.
It has no place for position,
pedigree, power or pelf.
It humbles all.

Exile is an existential crisis,
a crisis of faith, of values,
a challenge to human spirit
that may submerge and sink
to the nethermost depths
or soar to new heights
in the rekindling
of the urge to survive.

Exile is a penance,
a cleansing process of the soul,
a seeking of new vistas,
new values, new relationships,
a new purpose in life.

Exile is like being on a railway platform
waiting for the train
that takes you back to your roots,
a journey of self-rediscovery
drawing you inevitably
to your past,
your identity,
your gods,
your motherland.