Homebound is the debut collection of poems by Humairah Jamil, a Singapore writer.
During the author's Umrah trip in 2016, she revisited Mecca and Medina where time unspooled to twenty years ago — a young girl, a sacred mosque under construction, a circumambulation of different skins, and a faith she's yet to fully know how to carry. It felt like a homecoming and a bag of longings with no place to go.
The poems in Homebound are inspired by her revisit to the holy lands and her life journey which she has written and compiled over the years. As she navigates her emotions of love, loss, and hope through words, she finds herself coming back to the journey of experiencing the fleeting nature of this life and gradually learning that we are all homebound.
Homebound
Humairah is a teacher, book reviewer, reader, writer and poet. Her articles and poems have been published in various publications and websites like Amaliah, The Poetryhood, Soulful Stories, Suhuf (Masjid En-Naeem), Eleven Magazine (NTUMS) and more. She has performed spoken word poetry in various public and school events. In 2019, she self published 'Untuk Mama', and anthology of prose and poetry about mothers together with a friend. In the same year, her debut book of poems 'Homebound', which explores grief, hope, love & light, and centered around her revisit to Mecca and Medina, was published. Penning down her experiences and reflecting on His word is a pursuit she strives towards.