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It's not my responsibility to be beautiful. I'm not alive for that purpose. My existence is not about how desirable you find me.

Warsan Shire

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Warsan Shire
Age: 36
Born: 1988
Born: January 1
Poet
Writer
Republic of Kenya
Find
Shire
Desirable
Feminism
Responsibility
Alive
Existence
Purpose
Beautiful

More quotes by Warsan Shire

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I’m overwhelmed. My biggest downfall is my brightest blessing, I feel too much, all the time. Ya Allah, if it’ll keep my heart soft, break my heart every day.
Warsan Shire
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I know a few things to be true. I do not know where I am going, where I have come from is disappearing, I am unwelcome and my beauty is not beauty here. My body is burning with the shame of not belonging, my body is longing.
Warsan Shire
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My favourite people, biggest inspirations and closest friends are all women. Not a coincidence.
Warsan Shire
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Make love like you have no secrets like you've never been left never been hurt like the world don't owe you a single wretched thing.
Warsan Shire
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Mother says there are locked rooms inside all women, kitchen of love, bedroom of grief, bathroom of apathy. Sometimes, the men, they come with keys, and sometimes the men, they come with hammers.
Warsan Shire
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Document the moments you feel most in love with yourself - what you're wearing, who you're around, what you're doing. Recreate and repeat.
Warsan Shire
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Every mouth you’ve ever kissed was just practice. All the bodies you’ve ever undressed and ploughed in to were preparing you for me. I don’t mind tasting them in the memory of your mouth. Was it a long journey? Did it take you long to find me? You’re here now, welcome home.
Warsan Shire
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Later that night, I held an atlas on my lap, ran my fingers across the whole world, and whispered, ‘where does it hurt?’ It answered, everywhere, everywhere, everywhere.
Warsan Shire
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We took such care of tomorrow, but died on the way there.
Warsan Shire
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I tend to the wound so often, it never heals.
Warsan Shire
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Two people who were once very close can without blame or grand betrayal become strangers. Perhaps this is the saddest thing in the world.
Warsan Shire
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You can't make homes out of human beings.
Warsan Shire
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Light attracts light. But sometimes your light attracts moths and your warmth attracts parasites. Protect your space and energy
Warsan Shire
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There is no intimacy like that between two women who have chosen to be sisters.
Warsan Shire
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Sad people have the gift of time, while the world dizzies everyone else they remain stagnant, their bodies refusing to follow pace with the universe. With these kind of people everything aches for too long, everything moves without rush, wounds are always wet.
Warsan Shire
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To my daughter I will say, ‘when the men come, set yourself on fire.’
Warsan Shire
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When I love, I love: wholly, thoroughly, completely, drowning in everything. Every glance can be a conversation, eyes just playing and saying what needs to be said. Silence is loud, and the air becomes heavy. I want you. I want all of you.
Warsan Shire
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My name is indigenous to my country, it is not easy to pronounce, it takes effort to say correctly and I am absolutely in love with the sound of it and its meaning. Also, it's not the kind of name you baby, slip into sweet talk mid sentence, late night phone conversation, whisper into the receiver kind of name, so, of that I am glad.
Warsan Shire
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At the end of the day, it isn’t where I came from. Maybe home is somewhere I’m going and never have been before.
Warsan Shire
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I have my mother’s mouth and my father’s eyes on my face they are still together.
Warsan Shire