Poem: Enemy of the Sun ~Palestinian poet, Samith al-Qasim

From: Aztatl Garza ~Email: aztatlxikano@gmail.com

Enemy Of The Sun

I may--if you wish--lose my livelihood
I may sell my shirt and bed,
I may work as a stone cutter,
A street sweeper, a porter.

I may clean your stores
Or rummage your garbage for food.

I may lay down hungry,
O enemy of the sun,
But
I shall not compromise
And to the last pulse in my veins
I shall resist.

You may take the last strip of my land,
Feed my youth to prison cells.

You may plunder my heritage.
You may burn my books, my poems,
Or feed my flesh to the dogs.

You may spread a web of terror
On the roofs of my village,
O enemy of the sun,
But
I shall not compromise
And to the last pulse in my veins
I shall resist.

You may put out the light in my eyes.
You may deprive me of my mother's kisses.

You may curse my father, my people.

You may distort my history,
You may deprive my children of a smile
And of life's necessities.

You may fool my friends with a borrowed face.

You may build walls of hatred around me.

You may glue my eyes to humiliations,
O enemy of the sun,
But
I shall not compromise
And to the last pulse in my veins
I shall resist.

O enemy of the sun
The decorations are raised at the port,
The ejaculations fill the air,
A glow in the hearts,
And in the horizon
A sail is seen
Challenging the wind
And the depths.

It is Field Marshall Dedan Kamathi (Mau Mau)
Returning home
From the sea of loss.

It is the return of the sun,
Of my exiled ones,
And for her sake and his,
I swear
I shall not compromise
And to the last pulse in my veins
I shall resist,

Resist--and resist.

Palestinian poet, Samith al-Qasim
(from The War Before, by Black Panther Safiya Bukhari)

LINK: Safiya Bukhari: The War Before, A True Life Story ~ http://safiyabukhari.com/ ~





c/s