No Place for Us My Dear... Wider Reading (Poetry) 9: Refugee Blues

In his poem, W.H.Auden transcribes the heartrending lament of two refugees who have fled their country in the face of Hitler and his growing influence. The couple are now ostracized within an unfamiliar community.

Throughout his poem, Auden weaves an increasing sense of not belonging, with the feeling of isolation magnified by imagery such as "I saw a door opened and a cat let in," along with short, disconnected stanzas.

Prevalent too is the more direct poke at the poor treatment inflicted on immigrants, both today, then, and throughout history. Our narrator is isolated within the community and fears for their own safety.

It seems that, in fleeing one kind of torment, namely a corrupt nation, they have discovered another in the form of an intolerant society.

Refugee Blues - Identity Quotations