The version of the poem used to create this study guide appears in: Shire, Warsan. "Home." Poem Hunter, www.poemhunter.com/poem/home-433/. Accessed 21 July 2018. Parenthetical citations within the guide refer to the lines of the poem from which the quotations are taken.

“Home” is a poem written by Warsan Shire that provides an unmediated look into the lives and struggles of those people seeking asylum as they flee from the war-stricken countries that they call home. Shire, a Somali-born, London-based poet, based the poem off of another piece she wrote in 2009, which was inspired by a visit she made to the now-abandoned Somali Embassy in Rome. Overall, the poem seeks to give voice to the people whose voices have been silenced as they deal with the constant struggles of life as a refugee.

The poem begins with the speaker asserting that no one wants to leave home unless home has become too dangerous of a place to continue living in. They go on to describe the wide variety of dangers associated with being a refugee, focusing as much on the risks of fleeing as the risks of remaining. Such risks include being taken advantage of, treacherous means of travel, and xenophobic attitudes toward immigrants. All throughout the speaker personifies the abstract concept of home in order to emphasize the fact that people still feel an undeniable connection to their homes even when their homes threaten their livelihoods.