Dear Ghana-Buduburam Refugee Camp, Ghana

Dear Ghana,

     After the amazing summer we spent together, you deserve better than this, but saying goodbye to you in person is too hard for me to do. I hope you will understand that even though I love you, I need to do this. I need to get back to my life in the US. I need to leave you.
     I will always remember the weekends we spent together in Cape Coast and at the waterfall in Wli. You were just so beautiful; I was absolutely speechless when I saw you; I couldn't take my eyes off of you. At the waterfall, I could have just stayed and listened to you whisper to me forever.
     I owe you so much for guiding me through so many new experiences. I cannot thank you enough for all that you have shown me. It was all just amazing. I wish I could repay you for introducing me to so many good friends. Sam has been so good to me since I met him, and the volunteers in Swedru, I will never forget them. I hope leaving you doesn't mean I can't still be friends with them. I know that you knew them first, but I just can't take losing both you and them.
     I feel bad about not giving you more of my time; I was always working or busy with friends. I should have paid more attention to you. I should have traveled with you to the North. I should have learned more about you. You deserve better, Ghana. I have no doubt that you will find someone else. Even when I was with you, I saw how others looked at you. You will be fine without me.
     I still love you, Ghana, and I will miss you more than you ever know. Leaving you is hard, but I need to do it for me. I only hope that you will understand, and I hope that someday when you've forgiven me, I can see you again.

Love,
Julian

Missed-Buduburam Refugee Camp, Ghana

I missed my home; my bed cozy and warm,
The floors creaky and dusty with the floorboards years worn,
And the walls that let through a cool summer's breeze,
And a chilly winter's gust, through the gaps you could see.


I missed my family; their embrace, their love,
The time spent with friends, the squeeze of their hugs,
And the way that they know when my smile is gone,
That I need help and a shoulder to lean on.


But I wish I missed not my home or my bed,
And I wish I missed not my family or friends.


For I have a home here, a home with a bed,
A place to lay down and a roof o'er my head,
A home that is frequented by family and friends,
Who know something is wrong if my smile e'er ends.


And with two beds and two homes,
And two families and friends,
I can miss the ones missing,
And know when I'm gone,
Their support is not missing,
It is ever as strong.


I will miss what I miss,
And cannot guide it,
Or miss not what I miss,
Or even to hide it.


I will always miss that which I'm in need of,
The people, the places, the things that I love.