Into Egypt - Suheir Hammad

I like much of the work of Suheir Hammad the Palestinian-American poet. Her poetry focuses on themes of war and peace., social justice, and politics. Her poem "First Writings Since" on the aftermath of 9/11 is deeply moving and her poem "What I Will" is a defiant stand against war and occupation. Very powerful. This poem entitled "Into Egypt" was one of the first poems that she not only wrote but produced with a colleague. The images, music, and sound are part of the entire poem so in that sense it is one of the first multi-media representations of poetry on modern political themes. This kind of poetic representation is new and it is interesting how established artists are using the media as a form of poetic expression. This poem was written as the Egyptian revolution was beginning and the Arab spring was getting underway.

to be ready

you will want beauty

as your face

you will want to greet the day with a heart

you will wish was open

you will want to be brave

and you only fear

want belief in anything

and everything is doubt

when there is light finally you might squint

the sight of it all might make you

steady you will want

a vision ahead

redemptive dissonance

music for the end of

chorus for the coming of

manifest hum into hymn

the noise of it rivers you

you will cry water into flames

vulture your own heart to feed

you will want to love your self

at all enough you will want

to flee and forget the leaving

will have to leap still wanting

you will want to wait for witness

you will want to wait for those already gone

you will want until you are want

you will want until

you are ready...