[image source https://rumicenter.bigcartel.com/%5DAlhamdulilah, I’m on Day 3/30 of Baraka Blue’s online poetry course. I am loving the daily encouragement to write a poem (30 poems in 30 days!), and to read the poems from my coursemates. So much to breathe in and chew on throughout the day. I literally wait the entire day, until my daughters are fast asleep.
Our Day 1 poem was Rumi’s To Take A Step Without Feet. It took some reflection, time, refining and late night solitude, and here’s my response:
Day 1: Home
sit beside me, little ones
unfurl your hands and let me
read the constellations on your palms
the dewdrops of your innocence, paid for by
the blood of those who came
before
you, two tiny souls
burrowed deep, heartbeat to
heartbeat – grew, thrived, birthed
upon the waves of my pain
ancient, knowing eyes
every day
I was born thirsty
into hunger, carried across generations
cut from my roots
grew in hostile soil
you are my home now
teach me
how to breathe
swallow light
let go
hope
love
come
walk Home with me
may we sip, gently
cool, deep waters from the
hands of our Beloved
and never thirst again
Raidah Shah Idil is a student counsellor, poet, writer, and creative instructor with a passion for YA (young adult), fantasy, sci-fi and detective fiction. She was born in Singapore and moved to Australia at the age of 12. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (English) and Bachelor of Science (Psychology) from the University of New South Wales in 2005.
After working as a marketing copywriter and studying the Islamic Sciences in Amman, Jordan for nearly two years, she returned to Sydney, got married, then moved to Malaysia. While working as a part-time tutor at Axiom Learning, she works as an online counsellor for Seekershub Global. She has completed her Diploma of Counselling through the Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors. Her full-time job is raising her baby daughter. Everything else is squeezed in between. Literally. Her writing has been published in The Feminist Wire, SISTERS magazine, Daily Life, Lip Mag and Venture Beat. Raidah’s poetry was recently published in the ‘Armed With Only Our Souls’ online DDFS chapbook by New York poet Caits Meissner. Her debut double-featured novel, “Finding Jamilah and the Story of Yusuf” was published by MyLegacy publications in early 2014.
In her spare time (ha), she reads, listens to audiobooks, goes on walks, and is always on the lookout for tasty noodle soup. She currently lives in a green, leafy suburb in Kuala Lumpur with her husband, three small children and mother-in-law.
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Raidah Shah Idil 