En(gulf)ed

Whenever the “I” frets with worry,
Scouring for a place,
Digging through history’s past
Raking up any dirt 
Of cultural roots left
To call “home,”
I console him. Tell him
He is engulfed between
Two homes: 
One that courses through him
One that nurtures him.
The “I” curls up with shyness 
And says:
How lucky am I, to have not one 
But two homes. 

Andrew Riad is an Egyptian-born, Dubai-raised undergraduate student at New York University Abu Dhabi. Finishing up his third year, Riad is relying on poetry and its love for language to grapple with personal and professional goals that exist mutually: in decolonizing, unlearning, breaking taboo, and speaking up. His poetry is centered around the individual: whether that be how this identity belongs, is marginalized, is uplifted, or drifted. He founded @thecolonizedproject on Instagram to uplift marginalized colonized voices and to create a platform for visual decolonial art. He also dabbles on TikTok from time to time at @andrewriad1.

Follow Riad on Instagram: @_Andrewriad

Image courtesy of the author