Poetry Blog / The Immigrants by Margaret Atwood

I found this poem online and it caught my eye. The poem describes immigrants and an explanation of their travels during the move to another world or place. As I read the poem, it reminded me of the readings of American history and what other nationalities faced when they were sometimes forced to move to another country, without any idea of what they would be facing. More times than not, they faced hardships such as poverty, sickness, abuse from others and very little means of survival. They were looked down on by the same people that had been through similar circumstances but had survived and made a home for themselves at some earlier time. These people were afraid that their livelyhood may be at risk from the new people. These immigrants would often have to travel for miles after making the journey to a new land just to find a job, shelter or food never to earn many friendships.
I gained the knowledge of travel that these people had taken and the detail and feeling in the words that describes their clothing, looks, belongings and means of travel in their destination to find a new life. I appreciate my life and the journeys' that I have had compared to what these immigrants had to burden during that time for them. It makes you wonder if immigrants are going through similar circumstances today in search for a better life. I'm sure that somewhere in the world, the same burdens are being placed on immigrants even with technology and the modernization of civilization as we know it. The descriptions also remind me of the harshness that an immigrant might face on a boat during their travel to another country. Their is a lot of meaning in the words that describe the immigration process.