Stateless in New York

By luigi_pagano

Thu, 01 Aug 2019
  • 2123 reads
6 comments
 

Based on the 2004 film The Terminal. The film is about an Eastern European man who becomes stuck in New York's Airport terminal when he is denied entry into the United States and at the same time cannot return to his native country because of a lack of I.D. 

                                                                                         ◊ ◊ ◊

I wasn’t born yesterday
nor was I born today.
They say I don’t exist.
My name does not appear
on any official list.
I must be a figment
of their imagination.
To establish my identity
without a document
is fraught with frustration.
I can’t leave the airport
nor can I go anywhere:
I haven’t got a passport.
Nobody gives a damn
but I know I am alive:
I think, therefore I am.

 

© Luigi Pagano 2006

This file is licensed under the CreativeCommons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license. Attribution: Leonard J. DeFrancisci

 
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Comments

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

Neat! and reminiscent of other tangles of beaurocracy and paperwork these days! My father-in-law used to be pleased to say how he hadn't got a passport, had never had a driving licence,and now lived with us so didn't have any utility bills, and would almost have enjoyed an argument with an official wanting some such! Rhiannon

 

Submitted by onemorething on

Aha, so this is the lost ID poem! It's very good indeed and as Rhiannon says above, neatly done. Also I missed passports on my long list of things that would have my name on! (I might edit to see if I can squeeze passports in!) I remember this film, but this poem also makes me think more generally, as you said, what it means to be without a name, in effect. We are so bound by proofs of identity in many ways and how many people also live without this; without passports, bank accounts, birth certificates etc etc. A very thought provoking poem of yours. Thanks for resurrecting it. :)

 

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

Hi onemorething,
As I said, your poem "Nameless" tackled a theme similar to the one I had used in this old poem, namely the loss of a personal identity, and that prompted me to offer this quite ancient effort to show how one can be inspired by events. You will see from what I have said to Rhiannon that my stay in this country could have been in jeopardy as the visa was for six months only. I will make sure to be equipped with all the relevant paperwork when I travel after Brexit.
Funnily enough the taxman never asked for any proof of identity when he kindly asked me to contribute to the Treasury coffers. smiley

Cheers, Luigi

 

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

Hello Rhiannon,
I know how inconvenient it is being without proper documentation and we have been made aware of this by the recent Windrush scandal.
My personal experience has not been so drastic yet I had to be alert to avoid bureaucratic mishaps. I have resided in this country since 1961 but kept an Italian passport. Prior to the the UK joining the EEC my passport was stamped every time I came back to England. On one occasion, as I was leaving the airport, I realised that I had been given a six-months tourist visa rather than a permanent resident one. I had to rush back to explain the situation and the stamp was revised.
I can see now how a Kafkaesque situation could develop.

Luigi x

 

Submitted by Hydra on

I like the subject. I also like how compact the writing is, nothing wasted, every line brief but adding its own weight.

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

Thanks for your kind words, Scorpio. Much appreciated.