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Strength and Vulnerability
Watery Eyes is a collection of poems centered around womanhood, love, loss, and devotion. What inspired you to write this particular collection of poems?
I’ve enjoyed writing poetry for decades. It is how I best express myself. I believe what comes from the heart reaches the heart. I hope my writing resonates with people. I want to connect with my readers to spread faith, hope, and love.
Do you have a favorite poem in the book, and if so, why does it hold special meaning for you?
My favorite poem is “Teach me to love,” because it describes my belonging to Ethiopia, as a woman in the diaspora. I sprinkle Amharic words throughout the poem to give it a little flavor. It speaks to my soul! I carry my identity with me, as an Ethiopian-American, wherever I go. I sincerely convey the admiration I feel for being part of the Ethiopian community within an American context. I write from a youthful perspective, never losing touch with genuine idealism.
Are there any recurring symbols or images in your poems that hold special significance?
I talk a lot about themes being unique and universal. Through the specific, we access the spiritual. Often, what I experience is common to all. Love and loss are situations most everyone has found themselves in. I write to embrace subtle ways of feeling more human and more alive. I share my strength and vulnerability with diverse audiences in an effort to connect with my readers.
How has this poetry book changed you as a writer, or what did you learn about yourself through writing it?
I learned that it’s important to tackle big ideas. I did my best to portray life in a way that was romantic and realistic. I am grateful when people engage with my writing. It’s an honor and a privilege for my work to be welcomed in different homes. Through writing, all things are possible. Unity. Beauty. Purpose. Significance.
I learned to trust myself and stretch my capacity. Writing this book increased my confidence in sharing my truth. It gave me the grace to demonstrate true courage. I am grateful for the opportunity to explore the depths and heights of human emotion with like-minded individuals. It taught me to dig a little deeper and bare my soul.
Author Links: GoodReads | Website | Amazon
Watery Eyes: Reflections of a Muslim Woman
Watery Eyes: Reflections of a Muslim Woman, by Yerusalem Work, is a wide-ranging collection of poems that moves through faith, womanhood, identity, memory, grief, and tenderness. It blends personal history with spiritual reflection and cultural pride. The book shifts from intimate whispers to big declarations, sometimes soft as prayer and sometimes sharp as truth. The themes that repeat across its many pages feel like a heartbeat. Love. Loss. Devotion. A soul trying to stay steady in a world that keeps testing it.
As I read, I felt pulled into the author’s inner world. Her writing is warm and direct, and I found myself pausing often just to sit with an image or a line. She talks about faith in a way that feels lived rather than taught, and that honesty hit me hard. I kept feeling this mix of ache and comfort. Some poems feel like opening a window after a long night. Others feel like stepping into a memory that isn’t mine, yet somehow rings familiar. Her voice rises and sinks, and I liked that the rhythm never stays still. It mirrors real emotion. Messy, surprising, sometimes contradictory. The work feels confident and vulnerable at the same time.
There were moments when the ideas felt bigger than the poem holding them, but I didn’t mind. I actually liked the looseness. It gave the book a raw edge. I loved how she writes about Ethiopia and womanhood and faith as if they’re woven into the same cloth, each thread tugging on the next until the whole thing glows. Some pieces felt playful, some mournful, and others almost like confessions. The writing invited me to consider my own ideas of belonging and purpose.
I would recommend Watery Eyes to readers who enjoy poetry that comes straight from the heart. It’s a good fit for people who like reflective writing, spiritual searching, and stories rooted in identity and culture. It would also speak to anyone who has ever carried love and loss in the same breath. This is a book for readers who want to feel close to another person’s inner life and who appreciate writing that is sincere, emotional, and alive.
Pages: 167 | ASIN : B0G6WHMTZ8
