Ancestors,

 

Which scars are my own and which are those of my ancestors?

Which ache in my heart is from my time on this earth and which is the echo of an ache of my kin?

Which conversation with creator is me speaking and which conversation is me reciting spiritual poetry etched into my bones by the words of my foremothers?

And to the strength…that, too, has been passed down to me.

 

 

Descendants,

I would like you to know that it is ok to feel like you don’t fit in.

It is ok to be different from anything you see around you.

You can find community inside and outside of humanity.

Nature is your community, also.

You share space with every little green thing on this earth.

Talk to them.

Listen.

 

 

My name is Alysha Brilla. I was born Alysha Mohamed. I was born to parents of very different ethnic/cultural/religious backgrounds and I do believe that has largely shaped who I am as a person. I’m an artist; specifically drawn to the frequency of music and sound. Rhythm has carried me through periods of depression and existential questioning in my life, so I write songs with the intention of offering hope to others. My mother’s background is of European/Canadian settler history and my father immigrated to Canada from Tanzania. My father’s family is of mainly Gujarati-Indian heritage, but were in Tanzania for 200+ years and we know one of my ancestors was Indigenously African. There is a hybridized spirituality I carry with me.

Visit Alysha’s website here.

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