'once we had a country and we thought it fair' .which country is the poet talking about ?explain the poet's views
Answers
Answer:
Refugee Blues” was written by the British poet W.H. Auden. First published in 1939, on the eve of World War II, the poem meditates on the plight of Jewish refugees—forced to flee Nazi Germany, but unable to find refuge elsewhere. As the poem does so, it raises broader questions about isolation, loneliness, and exile. It depicts the trauma and pain of being forced to leave home—and of being unable to find a place of safety and security in a violent and uncertain world.
Read the full text of “Refugee Blues”
“Refugee Blues” Summary
Let’s say there are ten million people in this city. Some are living in mansions; some are living in slums. But there’s nowhere for us to live, my dear, there’s nowhere for us to live.
We used to belong to a nation, and we thought it was beautiful. If you look in the atlas, you’ll see it. But we can’t go there anymore, my dear, we can’t go there anymore.
An old yew tree grows outside the village church. Every spring, it blossoms again. But our old passports don’t blossom in the spring, my dear, they don’t blossom in the spring.
The immigration official slammed his fist down on the table and shouted, “If you don’t have a passport, then you’re legally dead.” But we’re still living, my dear, we’re still living.
I went to a committee for help and they told me to take a seat—then told me to wait until next year. But where will we go right now, my dear, where will we go right now?
I went to a political rally where the speaker said: “If we let the refugees enter our country, they’ll take our food.” He was talking about you and me, my dear, he was talking about you and me.
I thought I heard thunder in the sky. It was Hitler above Europe, saying, “They must die.” He was talking about you and me, my dear, he was talking about you and me.
I saw a poodle wearing a jacket fastened with a brooch. I saw a door open to let a cat in. But these were not German Jews, my dear, they weren’t German Jews.
I stood on the pier down at the harbor. I saw the fish swimming there—and they looked free enough. They were only ten feet away from me, my dear, only ten feet away.
I went for a walk in the woods and saw birds in the trees. They don’t care about the politicians; they sang freely. They weren’t human beings, my dear, they weren’t human beings.