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| My mother says no one can fight it-the returning to God,but the way she fell,face first,in the dirt,mouth full of earth,air,teeth,blood,wearing a white cotton baati,hair untied and smoked with ounsi,I wonder if Kadija believed she was going to float-Warsan Shire in teaching my mother how to give birth. |
Warsan Shire is my favourite poet.I have loved her for a really long time.So much so that I have a board called Warsan on Pintrest where my favourite quotes by her are pinned.This book has been on my to read list for quite a while now,so you can imagine my excitement when I saw the Kindle version on sale and at 0.99 USDs.I have never bought anything online that quick
Warsan is sort of a big deal so to read this book it had to be with a cup of tea,snacks,incense burning on a good and happy day.All this to ensure that the experience could be as memorable as possible because I have been waiting and planning for this moment for the the last three years.
Its easy to read and complete it within an hour but the poems require one to think through them and maybe even discuss them as part of a book club.I felt the poetry wasn't as straight forward as those in Upile's Soft Magic.
Although small this collection covers a wide range of subjects,those that particularly stood out for me are;
The war in Somalia.
One of the things Warsan is really famous for is how her poetry captures the war in Somalia.She writes from many different point of views.I feel this collection is heavy on this particular topic.A lot of the poems are about the war in Somalia,immigrants and the effects of war on the people who have to live through it.
Women in the Somali culture
In the poems Birds and What we lost in the Summer she covers how the Somali culture favours the male in a tone that questions this.
Female insecurities
Warsan from what I have read online suffered form Bulimia.This is to say at some point in time hard as it may to believe this great poet thought she wasn't enough.In the poem Bone she talks of how women especially young girls are forced to resort to negative habits.This so as to ensure the measure up to the societal beauty standards.
If I am being truly honest this has been the hardest book review to write.This tiny book has been my most challenging read this year.There is a lot of hidden meaning in everything including the title of the book.One must read it atleast two times to understand it's nuances and the meanings that aren't direct.I highly recommend it and suggest one reads it with a friend or as part of a book club.Get it here
