POETRY | BOOK RELEASE | PERSONAL REFLECTION

How Much a Heart Can Take

My poetry journey

How Much a Heart Can Take: A Journey Through 22 Poems of Longing and Loss by Maria Khalid. Available on Kobo.

There were days when I thought I’d lost it all — when I thought I’d stayed behind for too long; when it seemed as if language itself had given up on me; when it looked unreal to even dare to venture again.

It started unplanned — with small scribbles on old diaries, a torn page, notes on my phone, a phrase here, a verse there — until it all began to channel into a quiet flow.

A routine was born when Medium opened its Partner Program for my country. Though my initial writing was full of errors and breaks, it was also brimming with raw honesty and an effort to play with form and words. The response was encouraging enough to help me write every day.

A reading and writing rhythm developed. For three straight months, I contributed to some incredible poetry publications. The editorial feedback and warmth filled me with sunshine. It slowly transformed into a healing awareness, especially when I connected with poets and contributors who were experiencing the same creative chaos, frustration, and madness.

And then one fine day, with over a 100+ contributions on Medium, I twirled with the idea of experimenting with a chapbook. I worked on one, gave it an introduction with all my heart, and launched it on Kobo.

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✨You can have a look at it here:

https://www.kobo.com/ww/en/ebook/how-much-a-heart-can-take?sId=f319851e-8825-4b02-b48c-da18ebf5e586&ssId=VSe2TNTN3BbZuw1A9-bVH&cPos=1

I’d be truly happy if you’d read, review, and share your feedback on what I can do better with my poetry and my next collection.

I’d also be over the moon if friends here and everywhere could spare some time to review it. I’d be happy to share a copy with them.

Here are all the places where you can connect with me:

X: mariyakhaled
LinkedIn: mariyakhaled

I just realized that for a very long time, I was ignoring the small sunny patches in my life. But once I noticed them, the journey changed, the scene changed, the path changed.

Here’s to all my fellow writers, creatives, and dreamers:
May you soon find your sunshine 🌻.

Much love,

Maria.