![]() She then says she would make it so that anyone who sexually abused them would lose their hands, indicating that this was a traumatic aspect of their shared childhood. Then the speaker describes the reversal of her and her sister's physical development, followed by a note about how she will make them loved. The poem begins with her father returning, walking backwards into a room. ![]() Working backwards through a series of moments, she discusses the various ways in which she would go back and make things different through writing. This particular poem is about a speaker who expresses a desire to redo her traumatic childhood. Her work also commonly features protagonists dealing with an intense emotional struggle. Shire's poetry often depicts the lives of refugees and immigrants, with a focus on trauma, healing, and love in the context of familial and romantic relationships. She also contributed some of her poetry to Beyoncé Knowles' visual album Lemonade (2016). Her work has appeared in several publications, including Poetry Review, Sable LitMag, and Long Journeys: African Migrants on the Road. Shire is a poet and activist born in Kenya to Somali parents she grew up in London. ![]() ![]() First published in 2011 by flipped eye publishing, the poem appeared in Shire's collection Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth. "Backwards" is a poem by writer Warsan Shire about familial strife and the desire to reverse time.
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