Suheir Hammad: Poems of war, peace, women, power | Video on TED.com

Suheir Hammad: Poems of war, peace, women, power | Video on TED.com

Suheir Hammad is an American-Arab poet, her poetry is really inspirational and often deals with socio-political issues. I recommend this video if you're into spoken word!

Invictus ~ by William Ernest Henley

Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the Pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

for my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of Circumstance,

I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of Chance,

my head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears,

looms but the Horror of the shade,

and yet the menace of the years,

finds, and shall find me, unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,

how charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul.

Conversations I

And what is it to love they will ask
And I will respond saying it is to live,
To feel, to fly –
To truly be alive –
I will tell them that it is
The sun in the skies
The fruit in the trees
The diamonds in mines
The sand under my feet
The oceans kiss
The slight breeze in my hair
The butterflies flying
The smiles of children
The compassion of the aged
The energy of youth
The freedom of doves
The feeling of spinning uncontrollably
The release of all pain
The breaking of a shell
The joys of life…
I will say that this is what it is to love.

Her Name is Death

She silently walks in your shadows
Through the light and the darkness,
Draped in her darkened cloak,
She grips tightly on to your hand,
She is mesmerised, and promised.
Yet, she slips your mind
And only once you think about her
And what is to come with her
You begin to fear her,
For you have not lived rightly and
Your sentence thereof awaits you.
Her birth of you brings forth eternal life,
She travels with you
Draped in her darkened cloak
Through your sorrows and your joys,
Embedded in your heart lies a knowingness
Of her mere existence,
She is magnificence, she is, death.

Telescope Eyes

Through telescope eyes we scan
The word, the people, this life
Too quickly judging we lose ourselves
In a nothingness believed to be normality
A normality which deems outcasts
If not fitting into its nothingness
If you have thought of your own
No, you belong to the congregation of outcasts.
What life we live if telescope eyes be our light?
Is it not then a sin to judge a creation of the Creator?
Our battle then defeats us…
How this world defies us!
What treachery!
What a loss.

In the Stillness of the Night

In the stillness of the night
Slowly life evaporates from my veins
As the heart bleeds
The tears warm streaming down
The sighs of despair to compliment
Memories like a damaged record play
Days gone by of past happiness
Days of laughter and sunshine
Of childhood joys and lessons taught
Lessons learnt, lessons of pain
Of bruised knees and stitches
Lessons of respect and compassion
Days of advice and wisdom
Oh! How I remember your voice
Our last conversation strikingly clear
Your picture on my mantle
Reminds me of our short years
In the silence of the night
My heart bleeds
Tears of warm rivers flow
I know it was your time to go,
But Daddy, I miss you so.

I Am

Mother!
Bear the fruit of this land
Leader!
Lead us unto righteous paths
Fighter!
Fight for our equality
Teacher!
Nurture our souls so that we may prosper
Friend!
Entwine my hands in this circle of life
Lover!
Fuel the passions which within us rage
Light!
Guide is through the darkness
Protector!
Protect our bodies, minds – our souls
Companion!
Fill the voids which complete our lives
I am
Mother, Leader, Fighter, Teacher, Friend
Lover, Light, Protector, Companion!
I am Everything –
And I am nothing.

Rose

So simple yet so intricate,
So strong yet so delicate,
Her gentleness soft and tame
Her stemmed body paroxysmal with love
She held me at my birth,
Gave me tender touch,
Fed my soul with enthusiasm,
Bled her worry for my well being,
Caressed my face when I in my depression,
Expressed her delight in my achievement,
Shared with me in my excitement,
Enhanced my imagination and willed me
To dream, to achieve, to believe and to live,
A petal beauty advised and guided me
Through life, love, pain and sorrow
Her optimism gave hope for a better ’morrow
She will always be my source of life, my white Rose.

Advice

Love,
As much as the endless
Skies
As deep as the depths of a
Soul
As vast as the raging
Seas
As passionate as two
Dancers
As kind as an old
Man
As gentle as a
Lady
As sweet as the sound of
Chimes
As firm as the pillars of the
Temple
As simple as a fragrant
Rose
As true as the word of
God.