I Shall Never Turn Back

I’m the woman who has awakened
I’ve ris­en and become a tem­pest through the ashes of
my burnt children.
I’ve ris­en from the rivu­lets of my brother’s blood
My nation’s wrath has empowered me
My ruined and burnt vil­lages fill me with hatred against the enemy

Those shackles on my feet I have broken
I’ve opened the closed doors of ignorance
I’ve said farewell to all golden bracelets
O Com­pat­ri­ot, O broth­er of mine, I’m not what
I was
I’m the woman who has awakened
I’ve found my path and will nev­er turn back

With my pen­et­rat­ing insight, I have seen everything
in the pitch-dark­ness envel­op­ing my country,
the mid­night screams of bereaved moth­ers still
res­on­ate in my ears
I’ve seen bare­foot, wan­der­ing and home­less children
I’ve seen henna-handed brides with mourn­ing clothes
I’ve seen giant walls of the pris­ons swal­low freedom
in their raven­ous stomach
I’ve been reborn amidst epics of resistance
and courage
I’ve learned the song of free­dom in the last breaths,
in the waves of blood and in victory,

O Com­pat­ri­ot, O Broth­er, no longer regard me as
weak and incapable
with all my strength I’m with you on the path of
my land’s liberation
My voice has mingled with thou­sands of
aris­en women
my fists are clenched with the fists of thou­sands of
compatriots
along with you I’ve stepped up to the path of
my nation
to break all this suf­fer­ing, all these fetters
of slavery
O Com­pat­ri­ot, O Broth­er, I’m not what I was
I’m the woman who has awakened
I’ve found my path, and will nev­er turn back.

MEENA 1956–1987  Art­work : KEV­IN “RASHID” JOHN­SON | ANONYMOUS

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Gata Malandra

Edit­or / Research­er at No Bounds

Gata is a music and arts lov­er, stud­ied anthro­po­logy, art man­age­ment and media pro­duc­tion ded­ic­at­ing most of her time to cre­at­ive pro­jects pro­duced by No Bounds.

Latest posts by Gata Malandra (see all)

• Event: World Crew Battle UK By Swatch — Octo­ber 11, 2017
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• Video + Letra: Ill­mani ‘Saber es Poder’ — Feb­ru­ary 3, 2017