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.

My heart is a flower blossoming out of my mouth.

The ego hurts you like this: you become obsessed with the one person who does not love you. blind to the rest who do.

I belong deeply to myself.

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 means "good news" and Shire means "to gather in one place". My parents named me after my father's mother, my grandmother. Growing up, I absolutely wanted a name that was easier to pronounce, more common, prettier. But then I grew up and understood the power of a name, the beauty that comes in understanding how your name has affected who you are.

Apathy is the same as war, it all kills you, she says. Slow like cancer in the breast or fast like a machete in the neck.