Just under two years ago, I received a recording of a beautiful poem written by The Writer’s Club (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) founder Hala Abdullah (www.7alaabdullah.com), in her own voice, with the intent to put music to it. It was a far greater challenge than I had anticipated, and I had to shelf this project until I could figure it out. After finishing this lumbering Techno banger, I felt there was an element missing, and the poem came to mind, matching the general mood of the track.
The result: “War Poem”.
Lyrics:
To my former lovers I want to say
I take it back
From the love letters, the notes scribbled on napkins
To every syllable I have ever uttered
This is me officially dissolving
Everything
Even when my hands are held to my beating heart
And every word I spoke dripped with honesty
Know
That I might have thought I meant it then
But I know now
That my tongue has been dabbling in dying dialects of love
And has only tasted its true origin 66 Days ago
So I take it all back
And to you I will say:
Lover
I am a warrior
The natural state of my fists has always been clenched
And ready
My skin has always been black and blue with this enchantment
I am the soldier and the battleground and for 66 days now
There has been no war inside my chest
No bickering of the organs
No head against heart
I belong peacefully
To you
And my hands lover
My hands are no longer discouraged hearts held up before my eyes
Ready to throw the first punch
You have grown sunflower fields on my lifeline
So my arms are always outstretched
And my palms are always open
Searching for your light
