the flesh you possess is connected to the magnitude of mountains,
if you ever doubt your beauty, take refuge in the ocean.
when u lose yourself in daydream where it meets sky,
remember you were birthed from the same being, the all mighty high.
addiction is easy to come by,
it ain’t always physical substances that can make you fly
nothing compares to the power of skin and bones,
intoxication of fellow humans can be the hardest feeling to shake.
in amity, lust, romance
believe me when i tell you, the hardest drug comes in what looks like you.
the two most dangerous feelings: to feel lonely and nostalgic.
loneliness makes you forget your worth, that you are loved.
drives you to the first place of comfort,
arms of someone you should not be embraced by,
branded bottles that leave you blind to the wonders of life.
so lonely you pretend the bullshit is working.
nostalgia adorns the past in glitter that never existed,
makes the cold present a warm memory
grey winter illusioned into a warm summer,
pushing you to act on false narrative that never was.
to yearn for the physical does not make you dirty,
for your skin to touch another is not an act to be shamed by
the body should be honoured,
to use her should not create feelings of guilt.
your fears will hurt more than they ever protect you
stop running before you get tired
no energy will remain to face what you tried to hide from
and your issues will only get bigger.
to hurt is to grow, to feel is to know, you are full of life.
love is vast, love is scary, love is more.
you will find love you spent first half of life parched for in yourself
then from the external, it will enter you.
Fatima is a poet and writer, whose work explores the personal, music, current happenings and more. They have featured in gal dem, Black Ballad and New Wave Magazine. Of “lessons I taught myself as I mothered me”, they say “this poem is about truths I had to learn on my own, the hard way.” @silkylurv