Sols - By: Soly Assefa

as a black young girl, i had heard everything before

tears and blood which stained my hardwood floors.

the only thing which brought me comfort and peace

were the words on my page flowing with creases

but I hated my writing too, contradicting to love it and hate it even more

so instead i took the lines from my page and took it to my wrists,

hoping i could bring words to speak my truths in between all the lines

my fingertips, oh all they did was bring demise

I realized the work of my hands did not bring bliss

but moral sadness and an endless abyss

my left arm was a battleground for which i was fighting for

I ramble when i write speaking my melancholy

Death looks like it overcomes me, i seem like a ghoulie

hopefully one day, struggles i lived

will be spoken over and bring my life light

Please give a detailed explanation about the meaning and main idea of this poem.

I had a hard time with self harm. Black people are heavily undershown when it comes to depression and it's not a topic people really talk about. Especially the bullying, it really makes you fall into a black hole. Whenever I write, it helps me but during those days I hated my writing so much, I would use self harm instead of writing. I used to think everything I touched would bring damage (such as my arm or poetry). Whenever I write as well, I look dead.

Please explain your writing and thought process regarding this poem.

It took me 5 minutes to write this, but whenever I write poetry I ramble a lot and it comes to me easy. It could've been a lot better but all I did was speak my truths and how I felt. It's a short poem but it has many little details and if you look deep into my poetry, you can look into my mind.

Why did you choose to write this poem?

To bring light on self harm and how it can affect someone? Honestly, I wrote it to bring light on the matter and awareness. People don't know what it's like to be in someones shoes and deal with an addiction like that.

Do you have any tips or anything to share with the youth writers who may be reading this?

Write about yourself. All your trauma and everything you overcome, no matter how deep or sad it is. It makes other people see they aren't alone. And, the most important part...there's no such thing as bad poetry. Everything is beautiful in the form of words. Write and don't be scared.