World Poetry Day was declared by UNESCO in 1999, to give fresh recognition and impetus to national, regional and international poetry movements. It’s purpose is to promote the reading, writing, publishing and teaching of poetry throughout the world. In celebration of World Poetry Day, I’m sharing my poetry writing journey with you.

I  published my first prose in May, 2017 and my first poem in June, 2017. The poems I wrote initially were a release of emotions I felt at that time. The feedback I received was encouraging and it pushed me to share more poems. Since then, the journey has been awesome and looking back now, I have definitely grown a lot.

I went from writing a poem once a week to three times a week, to every day now. Poetry is a release for me, some sort of therapy. Though all my poems are not about my life experiences, quite a number of them are. Everything around me inspires my writings so it could be a movie I watched, something I ate, somewhere I went, something I heard, something I saw, etc. I guess you get the drift.

I’ve tried different styles and types of poetry and I constantly push my work out there though I’m still learning everyday. When I get reposts, comments or feedback from people on how my words helped them and are so relatable, it brings me immense joy.

My poetry writing journey will not be where it is today without the support I have received and the people in my circle who I share my drafts with. Thank you!

I hope my words bring you joy, comfort and healing.
I hope my words speak to the you inside, you’re hiding away.
I hope my words spark your curiosity and challenge you to be better.
I hope my poems help you.

To read all my poems, navigate to the poetry category.

Mariam Shittu