Audio Tour "Sons of immigrants. Daughters of the revolution" by Sera Babakus

Exhibition Großherzog-Friedrich-Straße 74, 66121 Saarbrücken, DE

Willkommen! Welcome! Would you like to get a taste of the poetry from my new collection "Sons of immigrants. Daughters of the revolution"? Using the app Digiwalk, you can experience a selection of 8 of the poems, read in diverse English from wonderful people I know. Take a look at my website for more information - and buy the book today!

Author: Sera Babakus

Events | Sera Babakus Author

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8 Stations

Ikarus vicarious

Ikarus vicarious

Your garden was wild.
Full of strawberries and tomatoes,
so overrun with sun-burnt leaves and weeds
you could hardly see the fruits.
But it was grand because it was yours
and you had made it with your own two hands.
We laughed
at how you would cradle a single tomato in your hand,
rub it shiny, hold it up to the sun
to really see it sparkle,
and pronounce it ready to eat
in an official harvest ceremony.
Your garden was wild,
just a small corner
that accidentally caught sunlight
in an otherwise neglected backyard.
And it hid your secrets
in its brush and thistle
so well
that we never realized how,
with every watering can
and plant lullaby,
you were growing roots
to another home
thousands of miles away.

©Sera Babakus 2021

Read by Defne Taner, intercultural management expert and one of the nicest people I have ever met!

Born in Turkey, raised in Germany

Green

Green

I sew together
the best of both worlds
with sinewy threads
and needles.

I am both the mad scientist and her victim.
I am both Frankenstein and her monster.

©Sera Babakus 2021

Read by Cecilia Paladines, the passion behind Los Paladines Teamtraining and Coaching:
https://www.lospaladines.com/uber_mich/

From Ecuador.

Defining feminism

Defining feminism

I handed her a pen
to sign the birthday card
and after writing just one
backwards letter,
she handed it back to me with a smile.
What savvy this woman must have developed
in her lifetime -
my Nandu
who empties her entire
change purse out onto the counter
to pay for groceries for her family
yet
who sings hymns from the Koran
like she has studied every verse
who tells stories
like she has a degree in Ancient Literature
who manages her kitchen
like the chef of a Michelin restaurant.

What a gift
that I can write pages of poetry and prose,
when she cannot even write
her own name.

©Sera Babakus 2021

Read by Iulia Popescu Fricke, coordinator of the MINET Mentoring Network for Female Immigrants and bad-ass feminist:
https://frauengenderbibliothek-saar.de/minet-saar-mentoringnetzwerk-fuer-migrantinnen/

From Romania

Symbiosis

Symbiosis

Some cities put themselves on display
like cake at a wedding
with bold colors and pearl balls
set in perfect patterns
and designed to impress from a distance,
but not really to be eaten.
Other cities hide themselves
in their untended gardens
with broken brick walls,
armless statues
and graffiti-scrawled benches,
aging but too proud to ask for help.
Still others beg for you to notice them
by dressing themselves up
with grand fountains and newly paved streets,
miles of well-preened
bushes and blossoms,
desperate for love at first sight.
My favorite city
waits for me to discover it
before becoming.
I am its muse,
and it is mine.

©Sera Babakus 2021

Read by Dr. Alwin Hartman, medicinal chemist and very good at making super spicey noodle dishes.

From the Netherlands.

Flight risk

Flight risk

I am not a domestic flight
where you check in 30 minutes
before take-off
and put your tray table
in its upright position for landing
just after you've flipped through the emergency details
once.

I am an international flight:
one carry-on,
two full suitcases,
a three-hour boarding process,
four boarding gates,
five passport controls,
six in-flight movies,
a seven-hour layover,
eight apple juices,
nine attempts to fall asleep,
ten visits to the lavatory.

I've had jetlag
since I was eleven.

©Sera Babakus 2021

Read by Phil Curry, my brother-in-law and only person I know brave enough to deal with my sister after long flights.

From the UK

Non-violent protest

Non-violent protest

I want
to make the injustice stop
by any means necessary,
to lock censorship behind bars,
starve social Darwinism,
burn anti-science at the stake,
give electric shock therapy to homophobia,
set fire to xenophobia,
drag racism on a rope behind my car,
water-board Islamophobia,
squeeze discrimination’s neck until it can’t breathe
anymore,
spit on antiziganism,
send antisemitism to the gas chambers,
suicide bomb extremism,
and throw acid at misogyny.
Yet,
with so many elaborate ways
to hate,
there must be a more creative way
to love.

©Sera Babakus 2021

Read by Salome Gvaramia, wife of my best friend and founder and CEO of Lamaria Capital:
https://www.lamariacapital.com/about

From Georgia (the country)

Homage to Heraclitus

Homage to Heraclitus

Dear Home,
Are you still the place I remember?
I think of you in color.
Did I forget the blues?

Dear Home,
Are you still the place I feel comfort?
I always got a good night’s sleep.
Did I forget the nightmares?

Dear Home,
Are you still the place I fit in?
I have known you my whole life.
Did you forget my name?

Dear Home,
Are you still the place of my dreams?
You promised to wait for me forever.
Have you already moved on?

©Sera Babakus 2021

Read by Melissa Thelusmon, career counselor for female immigrants and new owner of 3-Raum coworking space for women:
https://www.facebook.com/Laufbahncoaching-by-Its-your-journey-1070106166710839/
https://www.3raum.haus/

From Gabun

Jus sanguinus

Jus Sanguinis

We inherit the myths
and heroic odysseys.
We inherit the pain and the tragic beauty.

We are the sons of immigrants.
We are daughters of the revolution.

And We are a powerful multitude.

©Sera Babakus 2021

Read by Anas Alhaj, cold-pressed oil expert and future business founder in Germany:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mmvp720U_o&t=4290s (Minute 29:21)

From Syria