#ShardsOfPoetry: Raw and riveting

Leen Ahmed

Home to millions of creators, Instagram is teeming with creativity. And of the multiple accounts that provide food for the soul, a certain poetry account stands out for nothing less than the truest, most unfiltered art that leaves you gooseflesh.

“Shaaards” is not pleasing just for the sheer aesthetic of the feed but for the art inspired by art- drawings, sketches and paintings tango with the rich verses of poetry in a dizzying array of colors.

Shahudha Mohamed, 22, Maldivian writer, or better known by her pen name s.m. or Shards, who owns this account with a following of more than 8.8k, narrates her journey to becoming an inspiration for any budding writers that step foot onto this platform.

Poetry by Shards

Photo Credits: https://www.instagram.com/shaaards/

Currently working as a journalist at the online Maldivian news magazine edition.mv, Shards moved from her birth island to capital city Male’ at a tender age. Having lived in her island before making the switch to the hub of the country, Shards wasn’t familiar with the English language that was scarcely, if ever used back home.

However, in the process of progressing throughout her primary and secondary years in school she devoured the entirety of the libraries of the 2 schools she attended.

Through this process, she found herself enraptured with the language; her love for literature and writing began to pour out onto the stories assigned by school teachers and more often than not, it would overflow- “I never knew when to stop," she says with a little laugh.

Poetry by Shards

Photo Credits: https://www.instagram.com/shaaards/

Shards, however, found her true calling at 16- poetry. With poetry, the barriers that had prevented her from moving forward fell away; she no longer had to worry about cutting down a plot that went on for too long or spending way too much time on just one story.

The most important aspect of pursuing this style of writing was finally being able to truly express herself, “You know, back when I was writing stories, it was always me trying to convey something through the characters or something. But with poetry, it's just me conveying myself.”

For Shards, this newfound sense of freedom was not a hobby and she “never felt like it was a hobby.” Rather it was a part of her that was always there, and since its discovery, writing became something she needed to do, a coping mechanism.

Through being able to view writing as the expression of even her most vulnerable thoughts, Shards was able to strike a chord that not many were. And when first starting out, being one of the few instapoets in the community, she was especially remarkable.

She laughingly admits that rhyming is not her forte but one can assume that the raw form of her writing could not speak to the public in such volumes, if it was written in anything but the free-verse format. This unwavering honesty is the most important quality in her writings and she reckons that if a poem is faked and not from the heart, one can immediately tell.

Watercolor painting by Shards

Photo Credits: https://www.instagram.com/shaaards/

By voicing her most raw, unfiltered thoughts in this manner, Shards explained becoming fodder for heavy criticism from a society that prefers to be blind to certain things.

This is one of the biggest barriers writers like her face, but Shards views her poetry as something that is extremely rewarding as it allows her to connect with people.

“I feel like that's one of the main reasons why I put it out there, because people do tell me sometimes that they read my stuff and they have felt less alone and more understood. And if I can give that to even one person I am willing to do that.”

Stating that she could never force herself to sit down and write about a certain topic, Shards describes the writing process of someone who was truly born a writer, “...the poem comes to me. I don't know how to explain it really, but the poem comes to me and then when it comes to me I have to write it.”

The same goes for her art, which she is quick to admit is not nearly on the same level as her writing (though many would beg to differ); she draws and sketches when the motivation strikes, and if it’s at three in the morning, then so be it.

The remarkably simple manner she follows when creating her masterpieces, prompts the question of which muses Shards feels most moved by. Proclaiming that many of her pieces were most often inspired by the moon, the sea and the people she loved, she goes on to say that muses can be found even in the oddest of places.

This mindset of finding inspiration in “weird places” combined with having more time to try out new things in terms of exercising her creative muscles, has pushed her to dabble in Dhivehi poetry- writing in her mother-tongue. Vocalizing what a rich language her first language is, she truly believes that if the Maldivian community could move past the rigid rules they’ve set for themselves in terms of writing poetry in Dhivehi literature, the continuously “breathing, evolving” language would flourish.

Shards hopes to continue writing more in her native tongue and it is doubtless that she will inspire many others in the community to do the same.

Combination of Dhivehi and English on Shards’ art

Photo Credits: https://www.instagram.com/shaaards/

On a conclusive note, Shards admits that she hopes to publish her poetry as a book and hopefully write a novel as well.

Her parting words are empowering- as advice for any aspiring writers she says, “Don't try to write the way someone else writes. Don't try to give society what they think they want. Do it for yourself. Put yourself in there and find your own style and your way of telling your story or whatever story you're trying to tell.”