In the Surrey Hills, Cithelo spoke like the forest itself –
A Zulu warrior’s voice reminding us
We are tied to every horizon
Through roots, wind and stories in the leaves

We began as strangers
But soon the buddy system melted
And we flowed into one another.

I got locked in the toilet once –
Jo tried to rescue me
And the next time, I was terrified to lock the door
I shrieked like a pre-pubescent teenage girl
In the midst of my pee
When, guess who, Jo bursts in accidentally

I have never felt more…SEEEEN, included and a strong sense of belonging & CONNECTED to a community

As we were walking in the woods,
Nadine & I confronted a supermassive pile of poo 💩
“Elephant?!”, I whispered.
Surely not, we’re in England and not an African safari

Moments later horses trotted us,
And we dissolved into relief and hysterical laughter.

Someone noticed, as we walked that the earth accepted each footprint without judgement –
It simply received us
It caught myself wishing the rest of the world would master that very art,
To meet all of us, the global majority, queer & LGBT, people seeking asylum and refugees, displaced people with the same uncomplicated welcome.

By the fire that night
Bellies round with second helpings of the chicken,
I remembered a voice said if this country still doesn’t want us
I felt it too –

But I also thought,
We did not come to beg
We came to build
We came to reclaim
To repatriate what was looted

The whole world is our birthplace

And our presence is not a burden –
It is the return of what was always ours

A threshold crossed
A quiet echo of the forest acceptance,
Radiating the power of belonging

Inviting every other rainbow nation
To do better