"What I Will", by Suheir Hammad

Suheir Hammad shares this piece "What I will". Resistance to the Israeli war machine and occupation of Palestine

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Captions courtesy of the Radical Access Mapping Project, Un-ceded Coast Salish Territories of the Skwxwú7mesh, Musqueam, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples.
To learn more, see: http://radicalaccessiblecommunities.wordpress.com/subtitled-videos/
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From Brooklyn by the way
of Palestine, Ms. Suheir Hammad.

Thank you guys so much.

I will not dance to your
war drum.

I will not lend my soul
nor my bones to your war drum.

I will not dance
to your beating.

I know that beat.

It is lifeless.

I know intimately that
skin you are hitting.

It was alive once hunted stolen
stretched.

I will not dance to your
drummed up war.

I will not pop spin break for
you.

I will not hate for you
or even hate you.

I will not kill for you.

Especially I will not die for
you.

I will not mourn the dead with
murder nor suicide.

I will not side with you
or dance to bombs because

everyone is dancing.

Everyone can be wrong.

Life is a right not collateral
or casual.

I will not forget where
I come from.

I will craft my own drum.

Gather my beloved near and our
chanting will be dancing.

Our humming will
be drumming.

I will not be played.

I will not lend my name
nor my rhythm to your beat.

I will dance and resist
and dance and persist and dance.

This heartbeat is louder than
death.

Your war drum ain't louder than
this breath.