we refugees

• What form does the poem 'We Refugees' take?

  Free verse with varying stanza lengths
• What does the varying stanza and line lengths in 'We Refugees' convey?

  Turmoil and unpredictability experienced by refugees
• How many speakers are represented in 'We Refugees'?

  Either one or multiple voices
• What are the main ideas presented in 'We Refugees'?

  • Plight of refugees: no one should live in fear
  • Belonging can be precarious
  • Political, social, or religious circumstances can change quickly
  • Difficult for refugees to maintain identity
  • Arbitrary hatred and bigotry
• What does the poem 'We Refugees' invite readers to consider?

  The plight of refugees and empathy
• What mood is conveyed in 'We Refugees'?

  Serious, solemn, pressing, and stern
• What does the collective pronoun "we" signify in 'We Refugees'?

  Anyone can become a refugee
• What does the personal pronoun "I" represent in the poem?

  One person's voice or multiple voices
• What do the indefinite pronouns "someone" and "they" convey?

  A sense of fear and arbitrary hatred
• What imagery is used to depict causes of displacement in 'We Refugees'?

  "Don't like the way I pray" and "shade of skin"
• What rhetorical device is used with "We can" in the poem?

  Anaphora creates a persuasive tone
• What does the epistrophe "someone" imply in 'We Refugees'?

  Arbitrary nature of hatred and bigotry
• What is the main message conveyed by the rhetorical question in the poem?

  Nobody should live in fear
• How does the opening stanza of 'We Refugees' contrast positive and negative experiences?

  • Begins with "I" indicating personal experience
  • Contrasts a musical place with violence: "I come from a musical place/Where they shoot me for my song"
• What does the repetition of "brother" signify in the poem?

  Underlines torture and displacement of people
• What themes are referenced in the stanzas about race and religion?

  Hatred based on skin color and prayer
• How does Zephaniah illustrate the anonymity of bigotry?

  Through the use of the indefinite pronoun "they"
• What does the longer stanza in the poem emphasize?

  The importance of the narrator's message
• What does the repetition of "we can all" signify?

  All could face similar circumstances
• What does the speaker want to show about identity in the poem?

  She exists despite losing her country
• What does the phrase "sometimes it only takes" imply in the last stanza?

  Change can happen quickly
• What is the overall message of 'We Refugees' regarding identity and belonging?

  • We all come from somewhere
  • No one should live in fear of losing home
  • Heritage and identity are worth fighting for