What I Will

Tribute to all Palestinians people

Resistance to the Israeli war machine and occupation of Palestine

Suheir Hammad

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.