A singer/songwriter from Notting Hill has been commended for her Grenfell poem that she submitted to ‘Healing Words,’ a mental health poetry competition run by the Advocacy Project and supported by Central North West London Foundation Trust and West London Mental Health Trust.
Zakiya (pictured, left) explains that her submission is an enduring tribute to those who lost their lives in the tragedy, which include an old school friend and her friend’s mother;
“As a native of Notting Hill I was deeply saddened and affected by the tragic events that took place on June 14 2017.
“I really wrote this poem to express the aftermath and to remind people that the pain of losing loved ones doesn’t have to be in vain that us as a people should continue to band together and uplift one another, and never forget the day the world stood still for London.”
Her poem, The Power of Us, can be read below:
The Power of Us
It’s hard to see how we can ever see the brightness in the sky again when dark days ahead of us cloud our every thought.
Who knew today is where we would be
We hold tight to those we love and even those we’ve lost nothing can deter the power of the people the power of us.
So, take a moment to understand the pain to acknowledge there are laughs we will never hear again, stand strong for the lovers and stand strong for our sons, stand strong for our daughters uncles, aunties and mums for the power of the people the power of us this moment took away love and mostly our trust.
