Where Are Your Wings? by Felicia A. Iyamu
A poem about finding courage within oneself after experiencing hardship.
First published in A Book About Hair (LUCIA Verlag) in March 2024.
From the author:
Imagine a fallen angel as a symbol of resilience and renewal—a being who, though weathered by loss, finds strength in transformation. Its wings may be scarred, yet each mark reflects growth, an earned wisdom that shines through with newfound beauty. Far from defeat, this angel’s journey symbolizes the courage to face change and to rise from within, embodying the hope and power to create light and to inspire wherever it goes.
Listen to the author read her work:
Ashes to ashes and dust to soul— We are all a part of the Mother. A shared fate and a radiant consciousness. I hear whispers of a muted delight. A curly, coily braid of time is always so refined. I am a mesa, and the sun gods bless me. Dear sun sister, shine sweet soliloquies proudly, please. The earth is my home and the fullness Thereof. Though, this constant othering Is troubling. Can you see the light? Do you see the might in me, and we? Ashes to ashes and dust to soul— We are all a part of one another. A shared fate and a radiant consciousness. I hear voices of a shared plight. I hear voices of a shared spite. I hear voices of a shared right to live. A curly, coily braid of time is always so refined. I am a mesa, and the sun gods bless me. Dear sun brother, sing deep symphonies purely, please. Wings so white, We alight on an adventure To the Earth. Fallen angel. Fallen angel. Now a devil. Now a rebel. Where are your wings?
Felicia A. Iyamu writes with the mission to uncover the universal human search for meaning through philosophy and poetry, while raising awareness about healing generational trauma via geopolitical and historical research.
She has a Substack newsletter, podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and a book all titled Poetry in Eden. Her other work appears in various publications including Bauhaus Weimar Lucia Magazine and Spill Stories Anthology. A Northeast American Ivy League graduate, she has spent over a decade in Singapore, Berlin, and Lisbon where her research on human behaviour in complex systems continues today.
Instagram: @feliciaiyamu
If you’d like to support the author, you can purchase her book Poetry in Eden here.
Thank you for reading!
Pandan Weekly is a bi-annual zine and weekly email series produced by SEA Lit Circle, a community of writers and readers from Southeast Asia and the diaspora. At SEA Lit Circle, we inspire each other to write fresh, compelling work that’s true to ourselves, and we encourage each other to read and be more open to new works, stories, and perspectives within and beyond the region.
Subscribe to Pandan Weekly’s newsletter by leaving your email below.
We’d love to feature your writing. We want the works you wish someone out there would resonate with; works you write for fun, for your peace of mind, or for you to understand the world or yourself better; works you wish you had grown up with—works that beg for connections, or empathy. Check our submission guidelines through the link below.