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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: 37
Born: 1988
Born: January 1
Poet
Writer
Republic of Kenya
Beautiful
Find
Shire
Desirable
Feminism
Responsibility
Alive
Existence
Purpose

More quotes by Warsan Shire

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I won't glorify or romanticise heartbreak, for me it was a kind of death and I was forced to keep living.
Warsan Shire
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I belong deeply to myself.
Warsan Shire
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How far have you walked for men who've never held your feet in their laps?
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With you, intimacy colors my voice. Even 'hello' sounds like 'come here'.
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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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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To my daughter I will say, ‘when the men come, set yourself on fire.’
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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There is no intimacy like that between two women who have chosen to be sisters.
Warsan Shire
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My heart is a flower blossoming out of my mouth.
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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My alone feels so good, I'll only have you if you're sweeter than my solitude.
Warsan Shire
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Don't assume, ask. Be kind. Tell the truth. Don't say anything you can't stand behind fully. Have integrity. Tell people how you feel.
Warsan Shire
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I tore up and ate my own passport in an airport hotel once. I'm bloated with language I can’t afford to forget.
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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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 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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Your mouth is a lonely place but I keep coming back.
Warsan Shire
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You can't make homes out of human beings.
Warsan Shire