We Refugees / Benjamin Zephaniah

I come from a musical place 
Where they shoot me for my song 
And my brother has been tortured 
By my brother in my land. 

I come from a beautiful place 
Where they hate my shade of skin 
They don't like the way I pray 
And they ban free poetry. 

I come from a beautiful place 
Where girls cannot go to school 
There you are told what to believe 
And even young boys must grow beards. 

I come from a great old forest 
I think it is now a field 
And the people I once knew 
Are not there now. 

We can all be refugees 
Nobody is safe, 
All it takes is a mad leader 
Or no rain to bring forth food, 
We can all be refugees 
We can all be told to go, 
We can be hated by someone 
For being someone. 

I come from a beautiful place 
Where the valley floods each year 
And each year the hurricane tells us 
That we must keep moving on. 

I come from an ancient place 
All my family were born there 
And I would like to go there 
But I really want to live. 

I come from a sunny, sandy place 
Where tourists go to darken skin 
And dealers like to sell guns there 
I just can't tell you what's the price. 

I am told I have no country now 
I am told I am a lie 
I am told that modern history books 
May forget my name. 

We can all be refugees 
Sometimes it only takes a day, 
Sometimes it only takes a handshake 
Or a paper that is signed. 
We all came from refugees 
Nobody simply just appeared, 
Nobody's here without a struggle, 
And why should we live in fear 
Of the weather or the troubles? 
We all came here from somewhere.