courage (6) aya sabi
In these troubled times, we asked a number of authors we admire what ‘courage’ means to them. In the coming weeks, you can read their answers here, in the form of a poem, a memory, an anecdote or a more philosophical reflection.
ADVICE
We can keep on running, breathlessly fleeing the chaos we think we are leaving behind, but that always catches up with us because our heads don’t unscrew at the neck. So we are trapped, because we take ourselves along. Also to places where they don’t have mirrors. There is always something that reflects. Stop running. Slow down. Stand still. Walk backwards. Look inside you.
That is the only way you’ll get home.
Translated from the Dutch by Stephen Smith
Aya Sabi (1995) is a Belgian Dutch-language writer and columnist. She is currently following the Arabic and Islamic Studies programme at KU Leuven. She made her debut in 2017 with the novel Verkruimeld land (Crumbled Country). Her next book Half leven (Half a Life) is soon to be released by publishing house Das Mag.
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