monday poem #271: Suheir Hammad, "some of my best friends"

[heresluck]

Suheir Hammad is a writer and spoken word artist (see below for videos) "from Brooklyn by way of Palestine," as her author bio puts it. I picked up ZaatarDiva because of the back cover blurbs by Yusef Komunyakaa and Naomi Shihab Nye, and I'm so glad I did. These are fierce, witty, lyrical poems about family, politics, sex, gender, history, geography, nationality, death, life. It concludes with the long poem "first writing since," which may be the most moving piece I've ever read or heard about 9/11.

some of my best friends

below their crisp skin
but above their pulse
they bear
the numbers
inked onto their ancestors
who chant in their blood
never
again never

they own their own names
they bring rugalach into
my home and share stories
of kids pulling hats in search of horns
we cry and laugh
together in one breath

we look for each other in crowds of flags
loud speakers who silence us our solidarity
angers others who would always
rather war

when we do we
argue with each other the way
we do within our selves

fiercely with the security of knowing
love is larger than our details
these are my people
and we are chosen
family eating darkness
hiccuping light
little by little by light by little by light together

- Suheir Hammad
from ZaatarDiva

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