Written piece
DIDNT COME FOR THE WEATHER
IFEANYI ANUMONYE
United Kingdom
About this piece
A poem about belonging and purpose amid exclusion. It explores identity and home as more than a place, rooted in heritage, destiny, and the courage and resilience to plant roots, claim space, and remain.
I Didn't Come Here for the Weather
well, that's the joke I tell myself
when, in one fell swoop
snow blitz, hailstones pelt
rain pours, the sun blinds
and the wind chills
Then, as if to make me fearful
strangers or even worse, my neighbours
tell me I don’t belong
I didn't come here for the weather
I came wrapped in my elders' prayers
carrying the scent of Harmattan dust
and my ancestors’ hymns of survival
I came with faith stitched into
every hem of my history
knowing the same God who parts seas
also plants people, where they're meant to be
So when they say, “Go back home”
I whisper, I am home
Because home is not a postcode
nor a passport stamp
It's the breath of purpose
that keeps me upright in foreign winds
And when the storm clears
even here, rainbows appear
sometimes in twos
reminding me that
covenant lives in chosen soil too
So let them chant
Let the dark clouds roll by
and the flags fly high
I'll still lift my face up to the sky
because I know what it means
to stand on borrowed soil
and claim it holy
I didn't come here for the weather
I came because destiny demanded
I cultivate the roots
my mother and father dreamed before me
I didn't come here for the weather
I came for purpose
For promise
For participation
For I know I belong
And why I'm still here
And yes, I might not have
come here for the weather
But
This is my Home