Author: Warsan Shire
Published: 2011
Language: English
Pages: 37
Rating: 4/5
'Teaching My Mother How To Give Birth' is a poetry collection by Kenyan-born Warsan Shire.
I am really interested in reading more poetry and this was high on my list of poetry I wanted to read. This did not disappoint at all. The poetry was powerful, gripping and beautiful. Some of the poetry I liked more than others, but most I loved.
One of my favorite parts was:
"You are her mother.
Why did you not warn her,
hold her like a rotting boat
and tell her that men will not love her
if she is covered in continents,
if her teeth are small colonies,
if her stomach is an island
if her thighs are borders?
What man wants to lie down
and watch the world burn
in his bedroom?
Your daughter ’s face is a small riot,
her hands are a civil war,
a refugee camp behind each ear,
a body littered with ugly things.
But God,
doesn’t she wear
the world well?"
