HOME by Warsan Shire

By Warsan Shire

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BIOGRAPHY

Warsan Shire is a Somali British writer and poet born in Nairobi and raised in London. She has written two chapbooks, Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth and Her Blue Body. She was awarded the inaugural Brunel International African Poetry Prize and served as the first Young Poet Laureate of London. She is the youngest member of the Royal Society of Literature and is included in the Penguin Modern Poets series. Shire wrote the poetry for the Peabody Award–winning visual album Lemonade and the Disney film Black Is King in collaboration with Beyoncé Knowles-Carter. She also wrote the short film Brave Girl Rising, highlighting the voices and faces of Somali girls in Africa’s largest refugee camp. Shire lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two children. Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head is her full-length debut poetry collection.

Warsan Shire's poem "Home" is a powerful and poignant exploration of the theme of displacement and the search for a sense of belonging. The poem is divided into two parts, each with its own distinct tone and imagery.

MEANING

"no one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark you only run for the border when you see the whole city running as well "

MEANING

"go home blacks refugees dirty immigrants asylum seekerssucking our country dry "

Thanks

The End