The One Who Goes Away by Sujata Bhatt: Summary, Analysis & Themes
Table of Contents Poetry Key Information Central Message: Home is not a fixed place on a map. It travels inside the person who leaves, changing shape yet remaining intact, so that the one who always goes away never fully abandons what she carries within. Speaker: A woman of the Indian diaspora reflecting on repeated departures and the portable nature of home Poetic Form: Free verse, multi-section lyric Themes: Exile and Belonging, Portable Home, Identity, Memory, Displacement Emotions: Quiet resolve, Nostalgia, Acceptance, Underlying sadness Tone: Reflective, confessional, gently defiant Mood: Contemplative, bittersweet Time Period: Late 20th Century Literary Movement: Contemporary / Diaspora Poetry Published: 1989 (in the collection The One Who Goes Away ) Published Category: Contemporary Poetry / Postcolonial and Diaspora Poetry Meter: Free verse Rhyme Scheme: None (occasional internal or near rhyme) Full Poem: The One Who Goes Away But I am the one
who always goes away.
The first time was the m…