What I Will

Clothing by Florian Wowretzko

Photo by Brent Chua NY

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 nor dance to bombs

because everyone else 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.

- Suheir Hammad, Poems of War, Peace, Women and Power