"a woman will tell you
every home she has ever inhabited
has been broken into
starting with her body
i never leave a prison
without my head splitting
down my spine an iron
hand on my lungs".
without my head splitting
down my spine an iron
hand on my lungs".
This made me think about what women were going through at her time fearing being raped and sexually abused. This made a huge impact on me as a reader because she used strong language such as a home, which is a safe place I live in, being broken into and being put into a "prison" with no escape. I also see some love as resistance in this poem. In this poem, she mentions that she loves criminals. This confused me at first but when she said,
"i have always loved
criminals and not only the thugged
out bravado of rap videos and champagne
popping hustlers but my father
born an arab baby boy
on the forced way out
of his homeland his mother exiled
and pregnant gave birth in a camp
out bravado of rap videos and champagne
popping hustlers but my father
born an arab baby boy
on the forced way out
of his homeland his mother exiled
and pregnant gave birth in a camp
the world pointed and said
palestinians do not exist palestinians
are roaches palestinians are two legged dogs
and israel built jails and weapons and
a history based on the absence of a people
israel made itself holy and chosen
and my existence a crime
palestinians do not exist palestinians
are roaches palestinians are two legged dogs
and israel built jails and weapons and
a history based on the absence of a people
israel made itself holy and chosen
and my existence a crime
so i have always loved criminals
it is a love of self
and i will not cut off any part of
me and place it behind fences and bars
and the fake ass belief
that there is a difference between
the inside and the outside".
it is a love of self
and i will not cut off any part of
me and place it behind fences and bars
and the fake ass belief
that there is a difference between
the inside and the outside".
She is saying she loves criminals because she loves her father, her mother, and herself who are treated as criminals to Isreal just because they are Palestinians. She is saying that although they are "criminals" she still loves her family despite what anyone thinks.
Hey it’s RAE! I CAN NOT BLOG, only able to leave my posts as comments. In ZaatarDiva, I saw the theme of love as resistance in the poem Valentine. She talks about how Valentine’s Day is in the middle of winter and that in America, people pamper themselves and prepare for this one big day and have America as their lover. We spend money and buy flowers toys cards and candy with pretend roses and then the next day, it’s just another regular day and nothing is special anymore. WE spend all our time and energy for this one day, we are seeking love and trying to impress, when we should be showing our loved ones love every day. I think she mentions how winter and Valentine’s Day are together to show that winter is cold and the dark nights are long, so love is hard. I think she is saying that we are all searching for love and to be loved but it’s hard because America becomes our lover and we overspend time and energy on one day that will mean nothing in 24 hours. I also think that there is a love as resistance theme in the poem, a letter to Anthony because she describes this long distance friendship/relationship and she has wanted to say these things to him for so long, but hasn’t been able to get the words down on a paper. This guy has never been on an airplane and that they are worlds apart and how she always loved criminals or loved something that seems out of reach. Love as resistance is a theme because this love isn’t easy, this relationship is distant, and it is hard for her to express her feelings after years.
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