Description

Voicing: SATB choir, doumbek

Level: 5

Duration: 4 minutes

To see perusal score, please contact Jocelyn.

This excerpt from Songs for Muska features an incredible text by Somaia Ramish, a poet from Afghanistan, expertly translated by Farzana Marie and featured in her book Load Poems Like Guns.

Text

Load Poems Like Guns

Load poems like guns — war’s geography calls you to arms.
The enemy has no signs, counter-signs,

colors
signals
symbols!
Load poems like guns — each moment is loaded with bombs

bullets
blasts
death-sounds —
death and war
don’t follow rules
you can make your pages into white flags a thousand times
but swallow your words, say no more. Load your poems —
your body —
your thoughts —
like guns.
The schoolhouses of war rise up
within you.
Maybe you
are next.

~ Somaia Ramish, translated by Farzana Marie, used with permission from Load Poems Like Guns, Holy Cow! Press, 2015