Desert Flower: The Extraordinary Journey of a Desert Nomad

Waris in Somali means desert flower. Dirie remembers seeing the beautiful Somali desert flowers bloom after a period of rain and wondering at the fact that they had laid dormant, waiting for rain, only to bloom suddenly into beauty: “In the days after the rains, the savannahs blossom with golden flowers, and the grasslands turn green” (36).

The desert flower is a symbol of resilience and the existence of beauty despite hardship. It is apt that Dirie is named for these flowers, as she, too, demonstrates resilience in surviving a brutally challenging childhood in the Somali desert and a completely different world as a model in the Western world. Her use of Desert Flower as her memoir’s title showcases how this theme of resilience is central to the book.

Dirie refuses to wear a watch, even though she sometimes is late to or entirely misses shoots or meetings as a model in London, Milan, Paris, and New York. For Dirie, watches symbolize the fact that in the Western world, “everyone is bankrupt of time” (223). She believes that the incessant demands on people’s time through meetings, social plans, and work infringe on one’s peace and well-being.

She contrasts the rushed Western way of life with her childhood in Somalia, where people decided in the morning what needed to be done and completed tasks without adherence to strict schedules.