Le Voyage Magnifique

Refugee

Unsuspecting refugee,
who was yearning to be free
from the grip of tyranny,
paid coyote hefty fee
to avoid authority
on quest to reach boundary.

That was just a fantasy.
They ripped him from family
to raise odds, supposedly,
then left him in jeopardy
and flames of hostility.

Very soon, he came to see
a traumatic tapestry
of emotional debris.
Hunger, heat, and misery
line the trail to liberty,
so he struggled until he
met his final destiny.

Notes ▼

1. The Ambahan is the indigenous poetry of the Mangyan people, who live on the island of Mindoro in the Philippines, usually vocalized as a chant about relationships with friends, work, or life itself, and captured in time by inscribing them on bamboo plants or slats, The structure is fairly simple: as many seven syllable rhyming lines as you like. More background and examples can be found in the following link:

https://lingdy.aa-ken.jp/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/140227-intl-symp-and-ws_anya...

It should be noted that the original texts conform with the rhyming requirement, but the English translations do not.

2. Coyote: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coyote_%28person%29