Outside the door,
lurking in the shadows,
is a terrorist.
The opening lines of the poem elicit a sense of danger and fear. It is not yet specified which door this is; the speaker could be anywhere, including an unfamiliar place. The word "lurking" has an unpleasant undertone of impending ambush, suggesting that the physical barrier of a building will not protect the speaker. Outside, shadows contain a hidden danger, defined in the third line as a terrorist.
An article in the Review of International Studies states that some people argue that the word "terrorist" should "be abandoned as it has become overloaded with undesirable 'rhetorical' connotations" (Finlay). In the poem, the word "terrorist" is used purposely to present all the possible connotations that people will associate with the word. These include extremism, political violence, and foreign infiltration, as well as possible assumptions about race and religion. The think tank New America published a report stating that despite the assumption many people have about terrorists being foreign radicals, nearly all terrorist attacks in the US in the post-9/11 era were conducted by American citizens or legal residents. Though Dharker does not reside in the US, these findings are still relevant.
By withholding any other specifications of identity at this point in the poem, Dharker evokes all the possible assumptions surrounding terrorism.
Are words no more
than waving, wavering flags?
As the speaker continues to struggle to find the right word, she asks this rhetorical question about language and compares words to flags. The alliteration of the /w/ shows the fluctuating movement of words as they wave and waver. Flags are used to communicate belonging to a specific group, usually a nationality. They also symbolize patriotism and military efforts, which is relevant to the poem's focus on identity and perception. This passage suggests that, like the movement of flags, words are not static and can mean different things to different people. The regular iambic rhythm in these lines falters with the word "wavering," further expressing the speaker's uncertainty.
I open the door.
Come in, I say.
Come in and eat with us.
At the beginning of the poem, the door is closed to the person lurking in the shadows, defined by the speaker as a terrorist. As the poem progresses, the speaker wrestles internally with how to label the situation. Eventually, she lets go of loaded words and is able to recognize the boy outside as kin ("a child who looks like mine"). It is at this point that the speaker opens the door.
The invitation to enter one's home and break bread is a highly meaningful and symbolic act. Sharing food and shelter with someone affirms their very existence. That the speaker invites the boy into her home to eat with her family shows that she recognizes their shared humanity.
