what they did yesterday afternoon

they set my aunts house on fire

i cried the way women on tv do
folding at the middle
like a five pound note.
i called the boy who use to love me
tried to ‘okay’ my voice
i said hello
he said warsan, what’s wrong, what’s happened?

i’ve been praying,
and these are what my prayers look like;
dear god
i come from two countries
one is thirsty
the other is on fire
both need water.

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 (1988- ), Somali-British poet, first Young Poet Laureate of London, lyricist and collaborator with Beyonce Knowles-Carter

Image: Fallen Caryatid with Stone, Auguste Rodin, from the Musee Rodin in Paris