from "Life of Pi"

Why do people move? What makes them uproot and leave everything they've known for a great
unknown beyond the horizon? Why climb this Mount Everest of formalities that makes you feel
like a beggar? Why enter this jungle of foreignness where everything is new, strange and difficult?


The answer is the same the world over: people move in the hope of a better life.

People move because of the wear and tear of anxiety. Because of the gnawing feeling that no matter
how hard they work their efforts will yield nothing, that what they build up in one year will be torn
down in one day by others. Because of the impression that the future is blocked up, that they might
do all right but not their children Because of the feeling that nothing will change, that happiness
and prosperity are possible only somewhere else.

Familiarity

The routine of opening and closing the eyes
watching the same ceiling greet you twice
Knowing the time of the day
by the smell of the air on its way
The sound of the old fan
the imprints of a daily tan
The same weight of the glass of water
the taste being not a little salter
The same few paces between the walls
the square window and the bird calls
The clothesline just as strong
to the blackened nails they still belong
The switches and wires ever loyal
your entertainment plans they never foil
The picture frames locked in place
the same walls they continue to grace
All these and so much more
Familiar to your deepest core.