Vera Vera - Free Verse Poem

Never did I realize just how much of me was in my home.
Before the Russians, before the Japanese, before the Americans
The natural beauty of the Aleutian Islands is reflected in the Aleutians peoples.
With the Japanese spying and filtering onto the islands like seagulls,
We're ripped away from our homes by the government in search for a safer place.
Isn't safer supposed to come with food, dry shelter, and medical supplies?
Doesn't safer mean that the government won't forget about you when things get rough?
Day after day, we watch our community dwindle down with the cold and sickness.
Years of neglect happen before we're aloud to return home.
Dirt, ash, destruction, and pain are all I can see as I walk through what is left of home.
The wind blows through to bring in the salty smell of hope.
The Aleutian people are in their homelands once again.