Dr Esmorie Miller is a Lecturer in Criminology, in the School of Law and Social Sciences. Appointed in May 2018, Dr Miller previously taught in politics and criminology, at Queen’s University Belfast (QUB).
She completed her PhD in Political Theory at QUB, in December 2015. The research took a comparative approach, exploring the discernible cross-national convergence of statutory responses to the inner-city youth gang phenomenon, emerging between the 1990s and early 2000s, in England and Canada. Her master’s in political theory was awarded by the Department of Politics, University of Waterloo, Canada, in January 2005.

Another Place, Another Time

I have traveled a long way
And now I am in this place
There used to be another
The place of my childhood
Where once when I had a fever
I sat in the sun and it boiled my illness away

My present is almost always filled with this past
Faint sketches of distant sounds
Like tuning a radio
Turning the knob
Aimlessly seeking frequencies of recollection

Once upon a time it was the memories of scents that my senses recalled the most
Scents that came in patches of orange and yellow
Polka dots of blue
Back then, even when I dreamt, I dreamt in vibrant colours
My senses, they were never black and white
But as of late, I remember only in shades of grey
And, I wonder why?

I wonder —why?
As I look out the window at my ‘winter wonderland’
And listen to the echo of my thoughts
Reflected back from blankets of glimmering white
I wonder—why I am in this place?
Where when fevers runs high
There is no sunshine to boil away my pain

But now those are fuzzy memories
Now I wonder how I managed to get here
How I managed to get to this place
With so many other places to go
Never content with this present
Always searching for my Promised Land
Except, No one has ever made me a promise for any land

Now all friends and nemeses are lost in that time
We played, fought mini wars
And sat on ancient riverbanks