And I Dance
It all begins with an idea.
I am an African woman who speaks Arabic softened by the
valleys
and mountains of
Nubian, Coptic, and Kemetian.
Listen:
Cue Hanina by Mohamed Mounir
My ancestors danced across space and time.
I am an afro arab child of the stars. I am expansive as all the heavens.
Qawaqib were named after me.
Look into my eyes and see Altair, Pleiades
Do you see the map home?
Sitting at the feet of my ancestors, in awe of all that was and all that is to be, I know my worth.
I am african and arab. I come from Ma’at and Mariam. I am ascendent.
My sister! Our ancestors were wondrous and created humanity as we know it and in ways we can’t comprehend, yet.
Listen:
masr il dunya مصر .. أم الدني
Settle that into your bones.
Egypt is the mother of the world.
Guided by the heavens,
in delicious alliance with the cosmos
our ancestors birthed so much of our earthly understanding of the world.
They voyaged across oceans long. before the european ships came.
Our ancestors lived on the imagined borders of the Sahara as they rode horses over dunes.
Sang songs to the winds that carried their prayers on the Nile.
Danced with sand between their toes
Touched their foreheads to the fertile soil of the delta.
Listen:
Cue Musicians of the Nile Latcho Drom Egypt clip
We are all this and more.
No one can take our proud, fierce african legacy away from us.
No arab nationalist,
no colonizer,
no hotep
can take this legacy away from us.
It is us.
I look at those of you who are threatened by our liberation and flash the 3ayn on you. I no longer give my power to you. I keep it all for myself because it is mine.
And I rise.
And I rise.
We rise.
You don’t know me. Don’t you know I am everything?
I am the entire galaxy in a drop.
My copper brown skin, the greatest gift of the Egyptian sun, is molten and luscious.
Fuck with me and you will burn.
My ancestors knew no division between North Africa and the rest of the continent. I am healing that wound with each prayer, each moment I invoke the music of my people that tell stories of voyages across worlds in community and collaboration.
I am a mother. I am the mother of the world. I am Egypt.
I am not binary.
I am multitudes.
I am freedom fighter.
I am black.
I am black.
I am arab.
I am Nubian.
Listen:
Cue: Bow by Sault
I am no longer betraying myself and the people I come from. I honor myself
I honor my blackness
I honor the multitudes of who I am
My heart bursts as I write this.
My short life explodes at the thought of even beginning to match a drop of the legacy my peoples have left for me.
In the practice of being beyond space and time
I finally understand
that my life is not scarce
that my life is infinite.
Don’t you dare lose yourself, beautiful.
Everywhere I look I find you:
Isis holding the newborn Horus in her arms.
The constellations first named with the tongues of your people.
Listen:
Cue Um Kalsoum Alf Leila Wa Leila
Food as medicine.
Malachite and Lapis.
Majestic tombs dedicated to life after Earth.
Infinity.
Your majesty is in my bones, ancestors.
I bow in deep gratitude at your feet.
I promise to never forget this.
You are my reason.
I look to you with every breath.
You are my memory and my future.
When I stop and listen, I remember.
And I dance.
The world has been ending and beginning, ending and beginning.
Beginning and ending.
Across centuries. Across time and space.
We survived.
Each and every one of us is a testament to this survival.
Don’t you forget this, beautiful.
Across galaxies, stars burst and spawn their seed into worlds and worlds beyond our imagination.
I am ready.
And I dance.
Blog Post Title Two
It all begins with an idea.
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.
Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.
Blog Post Title Three
It all begins with an idea.
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.
Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.
Blog Post Title Four
It all begins with an idea.
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.
Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.