Harman Kaur’s Poems Explore Language, Migration, Grief and Home

These poems ask what home means to people who have moved between countries.

The speaker’s mother misses Panjab because she could express her feelings there without translating them.

The speaker says that language helped people understand her emotions.

The father feels caught between his old home and his new country.

The parents worked very hard in the new country so their child could pursue dreams.

Another poem describes becoming numb to grief and emotional pain.

It says healing requires facing difficult memories.

The final poem imagines learning not to carry hurt like a weapon.