Written by Writing poetry isn’t an easy task. To let your raw emotions pour out for the world to see in the form of the words that best express your grief, your joy, your compassion and so much more.
To allow the people to choose their interpretations of your perceptions and introspections.
You leave a profound legacy behind when you become a poet which is exactly what Lum Shaiza is on the path to do.
“Things that grow on us” is a collection of poems, thoughts, musings that have grown over years.
The book is divided into three chapters- Age Matters, Sweet Sorrow, and lastly, Dear Life.
Age Matters is a beautiful story of growing up and growing through the age of a “know it all teenager.” The age when our skin is at it’s thickest and thinnest and when we first venture to experience life for ourselves.
Sweet Sorrow is a chapter on heartbreak, on growing through pain and learning to heal. It is also my favourite chapter, perhaps because this is my stage of life that I too, am learning to navigate.
Dear Life is a bittersweet chapter of love, life and everything that comes in between. It tells of familial pain, and mourning for loss which hasn’t occured and how the writer waded through difficult waters.
Lum Shaiza writes with such delicacy, depth and authenticity.
Her words are pieced together with thoughtfulness and sincerity of the emotions described in the poem.
When you read any of the poems, you feel as though you’re sitting right beside her, marvelling at her talent as she puts pen to paper.
Her poems have evolved from simple writings on the internet to pieces of literature to dissect, pieces that stay with you long after you close the book. The way with which Lum Shaiza is able to start her poems are one of the things I admire most about the whole poem because of how important it is to capture the attention of the reader.
Every poem is worth the read.
This book, I’m told, is a labour of love.
A childhood dream come true and it shows.
The proof is in the pudding and by gosh, such delightful pudding.
So I encourage each of you to buy this book, take time and savour the poetry and let its’ roots find soil in your heart so that you may become home to the “Things that grow on us.”
