Meet Minneapolis Creative Khadijo Abdi 

Others receive positive feedback that makes them feel good about themselves and confident in their abilities, while someone with impostor syndrome takes praise from others as an exaggeration rather than a true reflection of their abilities. People with impostor syndrome are unable to internalize success. Imposter by Khadijo (JoJo) Abdi addresses this issue that many women with multiple and diverse identities face.

Welcome to Sunday Morning Lyricality, featuring a weekly song or poem by a Minnesota writer. Our current guest editor is Anisa Hagi-Mohamed

My name is Anisa Hagi-Mohamed and I will be the editor for this month’s Sunday Morning Lyricality newsletter. 

I was honored when Tracy asked if I wanted to be on the administration team for Lyricality this year (I quickly responded: YES). It’s been a longtime goal of mine to immerse myself in the local and regional literary community and to build connections with other creatives.

For this month’s posts, I contacted three multi-talented Minnesota-based Somali poets – Khadijo Abdi, Halima Hagi-Mohamed and Samira Hussein. 

The first poet I would love to introduce is my dear friend Khadijo Abdi (or as I know her, JoJo). Khadijo Abdi is a Somali writer, translator, and medical interpreter who lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She writes about transitions in life and immigrant experiences. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from Augsburg University. Her writing appears in Minnesota Women’s Press and Muslim American Writers at Home anthology by Freedom Voices.

I met JoJo in a Somali women’s online support group last year. I was awed by her wisdom and her openness in sharing experiences from her life relating to family, mental health and a plethora of other topics. I have chosen to share two of her poems this month. This first poem deals with a topic that we as women of multilayered and multifaceted identities frequently deal with: imposter syndrome. 

Imposter
Khadijo (JoJo) Abdi

Opportunity knocked, and I opened the door
Oh it’s going to lead somewhere for sure.
You should know something, though,
It might seem small to say yes to something
That arrived on one’s doorstep. It’s the 
Least one could do, you might think, 
But what you don’t know is the fight
That goes on in someone’s head
When they don’t feel they deserve good things
When their every other thought is:
Wait till they find out who
You really are!
Or, Surely, they’ll know soon enough.
That you are ______________

…………………………messy
…………………………disorganized
…………………………weird
…………………………unskilled
…………………………lazy
…………………………not worthy (insert any other crushing self-critical thought that pops up)

Any time anyone gave credit, kudos, or congrats
or opened the door to opportunities for me
A strong, unabating urge to hide under 
A table overcomes me until the chance passes.

If you know all of that, you would understand
What a relief it is to say yes for a change,
And to get out of your own damn way for once in your life.
You would understand how sweet it feels
When you stop holding your future hostage.

***

Khadijo can be reached at: Khadijo.ab@gmail.com

***

Do you like Lyricality’s new look? Anisa Hagi-Mohamed is the talent behind Lyricality’s artwork, specifically our website banner, our new Sunday Morning Lyricality image and all our images on LyricaliTea. Anisa’s artwork is beautifully bright and colorful and full of shapes that really draw in attention, just checkout LyricaliTea. Anisa is a poet, writer, teacher, mother, Lyricality Leadership member and just an all around multipotentialite.

Share the Post:

Related Posts