FACT’s Anzish Mirza chats with Salwa Sadek about her poetry collection that brings us words we will forever carry with us in our minds..

S alwa Sadek is an Egyptian-Australian poet and spoken word artist. Her passion for storytelling came about when studying journalism sparked her interest in telling her own stories in poetic form. Her verse is heavily faith-based as a means to understand the way we live life and to share the beauty of her faith (Islam), which has been greatly misrepresented in today’s world.

Her first self-published poetry book Carry Me With You is based on the importance of faith and religion that stems from the teachings the author’s parents ingrained in her of values and morals. This is a compilation describing the result of rediscovering that lost connection with God, which she hopes to portray to her readers as they find their own way back. The perfect way to end Ramadan and begin anew as the months pass by.

The process to write Carry Me With You began in a little notebook, given to her by her mother, for brainstorming ideas and goals for the future. Those ideas transitioned into emotions and further transformed into beautiful and heartwarming stanzas. “I remember being on holiday sometime in 2018, and I started writing my thoughts on paper, I started writing poems. I even began planning possible book names of my future to-be poetry book one day,” says Salwa.

Words have a way to engage our senses along with our emotions, making the art form experiential and hugely effective in connecting with our minds. Salwa emphasised that poetry makes her feel seen when she feels invisible.

“Most of my life I’ve felt misunderstood, and when no one truly understands what it’s like to be you, I’ve found that poetry fills that gap for me. It says what I’m feeling in a way that I feel understood. It’s sort of my coping mechanism now for all the sadness and wonder that enters and leaves me regularly,” she adds. “Poetry can be so beautiful, because it’s a form of art that truly has the ability to reflect the intricacies of one’s mind, soul, and thoughts. While we’re all so different, our emotions are universal and so you’ll find that we have more in common than we think or assume to have. I think that in itself is sublime, that we can share that sense of belonging purely based on emotional or spiritual connections.” Salwa’s words convey her emotions and thoughts in a way that sends chills down your spine and makes you wonder about your life and purpose. Her words make you question your actions, as well as the ramifications those actions might have. She tackles everything from her political, moral and religious beliefs, making us want to read more as we venture into the depths of those lines between the words and her mind. It is a collection of poems separated into three themes: faith, love, and death – which the author has found herself struggling with throughout her life. A book of faith and spirituality.

When asked about the power of words for her, she said: “While some would think that words are limiting. I find so much power and beauty through language that I can piece together to formulate a line/poem that can resonate with myself and others. It’s sort of like a puzzle. I’ve always hated puzzles and had no patience for them, but when it comes to the puzzle of piecing words together, I am so patient with myself, I feel like I’m made to do this.”

Following creatives like Mustafa on Instagram, better known as Mustafa The Poet, for a couple of years now, has allowed her to be inspired as she witnessed the beauty of how words could transform a person’s mental state of mind. She admired the delicacy in his craft and how it was all so beautifully articulate and personal to his life. She then wanted her poems to carry that same emotion that allowed readers to resonate with her journey. Further inspiration came from the questions that her own life poses.

“Last year was the year that I had my focal moment of realisation of my purpose and the urgency to fulfil that in some way. I realised how we get so carried away in this life that we worry about everything else other than our ultimate purpose and the reason we’re here. We forget that this isn’t the end, there’s another life waiting for us. Having this mindset helped inspire me to write even more about my struggles with faith growing up because I was doing it for the sake of God,” she says. “To be able to use language to help people see the beauty of God and Islam, which has been greatly misrepresented in our world today, makes me feel like I’m living with purpose which I’ve tried to find all my life.” The book is a collection of the experiences of someone that has gone through emotional and spiritual challenges her whole life; a raw and personal reflection.

The biggest thing that this book offers is a sense of hope and comfort in the sense that we can always improve the person we are, no matter how far off track we feel. No one becomes pious overnight and all pious people were once off track. We all start somewhere, it’s taking the steps and the intention towards improving for the sake of God that matters. Salwa’s book hopes to make people feel understood in a world where so much compassion and empathy is lacking. She hopes to bridge a connection and a sense of belonging between herself and the reader, and help them realise that they are not alone. ✤

GO: VISIT @SALWA_SADEK ON INSTAGRAM FOR MORE INFORMATION.