April302013
“Essentially, if our secrets are secrets because we are told to be ashamed, then we must share them. There is no shame in being sad or struggling or trying to heal. We are all desperate, depraved and sacred. We are all terrible and brillIant. I can list all the things that can make a girl want to escape her own body (re: patriarchy). But I’d rather list all the things that make me want to stay in my body, and adorn it like a home, rub oils into my skin, tell it how sorry I am for trying to leave, for trying to hurt it into submission.” Warsan Shire (via cannibalesqueappetite)

(Source: 61887, via mistyknights)

warsan shire poet poetry 

April152013
“Not everyone is okay with living like an open wound. But the thing about open wounds is that, well, you aren’t ignoring it. You’re healing; the fresh air can get to it. It’s honest. You aren’t hiding who you are. You aren’t rotting. People can give you advice on how to heal without scarring badly. But on the other hand there are some people who’ll feel uncomfortable around you. Some will even point and laugh. But we all have wounds.” Warsan Shire (via laughterandhope)

(via azaadi)

Warsan Shire poet 

April22013
“You can’t make homes out of human beings. Someone should have already told you that.”  Warsan Shire (via arabarabarab)

(Source: bitterbun, via arabarabarab)

warsan shire poet poetry 

March102013

Women’s History Month: March 3, Warsan Shire


Warsan Shire is a London-based, Kenyan-born, Somali writer whose powerful poetry has left me blown away each time I read it. In her book of poetry “Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth” Shire explores the relationship of women’s bodies to war and displacement. 

Some of my favorite poems by Shire are “I’m Not Sad” and “For Women Who Are Difficult to Love.”

Check out this interview if you’d like to learn more. If you’re a writer or  poet or someone who just enjoys being knocked off your feet by words, read all the poetry!

“If our secrets are secrets because we are told to be ashamed, then we must share them.”

(Source: lordbyronsbloomers, via balkan-thug)

warsan shire poet 

February242013
“‎later that night
i held an atlas in my lap
ran my fingers across the whole world
and whispered
where does it hurt?

it answered
everywhere
everywhere
everywhere.” Warsan Shire (via happychild)

(Source: naturalinfiniteyes, via beforebrovaries)

warsan shire poet poem 

February222013
I write when everyone is asleep. I write with music. I never plan it. But it is a very constant. It feels organic. My poems come to me in images, like film. I can see it very clearly and then this overwhelming urge to write out best what I just saw comes over me. I write best with free writes, where I refuse to edit what is leaving me, where I write within a specific time frame. I refuse to obsess over it, and if it doesn’t come out easily, then I leave it. I don’t write for an audience. I’m thankful to take my time. The poems happen to me. Sometimes I have no actual idea where they have come from. - Warsan Shire (x)

I write when everyone is asleep. I write with music. I never plan it. But it is a very constant. It feels organic. My poems come to me in images, like film. I can see it very clearly and then this overwhelming urge to write out best what I just saw comes over me. I write best with free writes, where I refuse to edit what is leaving me, where I write within a specific time frame. I refuse to obsess over it, and if it doesn’t come out easily, then I leave it. I don’t write for an audience. I’m thankful to take my time. The poems happen to me. Sometimes I have no actual idea where they have come from.

- Warsan Shire (x)

(via nomadmanifesto)

warsan shire poet writer fave 

January282013
“With you, intimacy colours my voice. Even ‘hello’ sounds like ‘come here’.” Warsan Shire (via farvva)

(Source: thefreenomad, via nomadmanifesto)

Warsan Shire poet poem 

January22013
“My alone feels so good, I’ll only have you if you’re sweeter than my solitude.” Warsan Shire (via commanderspock)

(Source: ikenbot, via laralaralara)

Warsan Shire poet poem 

December252012
“I am tired of explaining that Allah is God
and not a three headed creation.
That we believe in Noah and Moses and Jesus, too.
But sometimes that’s expected.
I just never thought
I would have to explain
the struggles of color
to you” Rasha Ghappour (via kawrage)

Rasha Ghappour poetry poet 

December212012
“I am a lover without a lover. I am lovely and lonely and I belong deeply to myself.” Warsan Shire (via larmoyante)

(Source: larmoyante)

Warsan Shire poet poetry 

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