The poetry of Fatimah Asghar

When I was first arriving at ‘poetry,’ I found Fatimah Asghar and was moved by the power.

This poem comes from a book called ‘If they come for us’. There are many poems in the book where she uses the ‘YOU’ article to put the reader within the action. I love how she leaps off that opening line and she never lets up until right at the end.

Your prompt for the day

The theme of the poem rings true for a lot of people with dual nationality but I suppose everyone has a feeling of dual identity. We wear hats in different settings.

I wonder whether you can write down a list of the different roles you play. For example, mother, sister, daughter, carer, post office worker etc…

Now I want you to write a series of lines with the structure: You’re ………… until ………………..

so an example would be You’re a mother until she tells you to get out. You’re a sister until she stops answering your calls.

Notice how a narrative will slowly form. You can embrace that narrative and see where it leads you

enjoy!