When I don’t write, I’m not me
Writing has become such a big part of me
When I don’t write something is wrong
When I feel good, I write quickly
Words flow
Ideas are there, no hesitation
The page is filled in a few minutes
And I’ve said my piece
When I don’t open my notebook
And if I do, words trickle down ever so slowly
I miss being me
January 4th, 2023
I don’t think of myself as a poet
A writer, perhaps
A recorder if my reality
One who writes to be consoled
To be understood
To understand
To explore
To share
To celebrate
To make known
I’ve always written
And I always will
Writing is part of my identity
And if what I write moves someone
Or brings them joy
If it has meaning for them
And makes them feel less alone
I feel blessed to be part of their world
June 29th 2022
Does anyone feel like they belong?
Don’t each of us feel like outsiders sometime, somewhere?
If we’re in touch with different groups of people
We’re bound to feel like we don’t belong
How does it feel to belong?
It’s feeling accepted and loved despite our flaws
It’s having our uniqueness and individuality acknowledged
And feeling accepted means not feeling judged
But feeling encouraged and celebrated
December 23rd, 2018
Dear readers,
I’ve recently published a second collection of my poems: Collage of Me, Reflections on identity and belonging. It’s the story of how a Persian girl who moved to Canada when she was fourteen dealt with questions of identity and belonging. It’s available on Amazon.
We need not have one category to fit in
We can have complicated identities
As a result of living in various countries
Speaking various languages
Having various roles
We can fit in many different worlds
Instead of being worried because we don’t
Fully fit in one box
We should be happy
We fit in a few boxes
That doesn’t dilute our identity
It enriches it
November 18th, 2018
Where are you from
Is a much more complicated question
To answer now-a-days
In our shrinking world
Where we move easily from one country to the next
Where staying in the same city you were born in is rare
Where are you from
Is harder to answer
Where am I from?
Or where have I lived most of my life?
Where am I from?
What will that say about me?
It puts me in a comfortable category
But it won’t tell you who I am completely or
What experiences I’ve had
Where am I from?
I’ll tell you where as long as you don’t
Put me in a box or make assumptions
Which are not true
Where am I from?
The answer is not simple at all
November 17th, 2018
We feel the need to belong
To be accepted
To be similar to those around us
To fit in
But what if we embrace otherness
Accept the uniqueness of our experiences
The difference in the colour of our skin
Or the country we come from
Realizing that underneath
All these seeming differences
We are one
We all come from Africa
The devisions we have created
Are manmade
Differences can be good if we accept them
And are aware of the underlying oneness
I belong to the human family
And my experiences in life
Make me the unique human being that I am
And that uniqueness
That otherness
Is on the surface
Deep inside we are all one
And when I understand that
I will feel like I belong
No matter where I am
November 12th, 2018
Our roots ground us
They give us stability and
The chance to grow tall
They keep us firm
In the storms of life
They nourish our souls
They make us strong
Leaves and branches
Adorn the tree of our lives
But without roots
They would not stay alive
“Grounded in our roots we rise”*
September 30th, 2018
*Larry Smith in Fresh off the boat
I accept all of me
The Eastern me
The Western me
And everything in between
All of my experiences in life
Are valid
All the influences I have had
Have shaped me
Yet in the final analysis
I am who I am
Despite where I have grown up
Or where I live
My personality is not tied to one place
My interests and talents are innate
My humanity something I have
In common with everyone else
September 17th, 2018
Do I fit in here or there?
Do I belong here or there?
Questions I once asked myself
How about I fit in here and there
I belong here and there
I also belong to a group of people
Who have grown up here and there
There are other people like me out there
They are also my community
At the root of it all though
We are all human beings
Who belong to the same family
Sept. 5th, 2018
lida's musings 