What They Did Yesterday Afternoon by Warsan Shire

What They Did Yesterday Afternoon by Warsan Shire

They set my Aunt’s house on fire. I cried the way women on TV do, folding at the middle like a five-pound note. I called the boy who used to love me and tried to ‘okay’ my voice. I said hello. He said ‘Warsan what’s wrong, what’s happened?’ I’ve been praying, and these are what my prayers look like.

Dear god, I come from two countries. One is thirsty, the other is on fire. Both need water. Later that night, I held an atlas in my lap, ran my fingers across the whole world and whispered, where does it hurt?

“It answered: everywhere, everywhere, everywhere.”