WORD WORK: BUÍOCHAS

A sumud smile
requires training
particularly for us outsiders
who may indeed be protesting
supporting
and organising

but haven’t lived it

haven’t felt it

breathed
eaten
drunk and
smelt it

since birth
since conception

The first, second, third
or even umpteenth time you encounter the other side and literally want to go Molotov on them
helps prepare your nervous system for the next ones
until you reach a stage where comments
counter-comments
gestures
and even stares of disdain
aren’t automatic reflexes anymore
Your very presence and the fact that you are not giving them an inch
shaming them if necessary
but not letting them have a milimitre of your power
control
aura
stronghold
in any given space

A true sumud smile requires training
It may take a while to get there for us outsiders
But when the hurdles are overcome
it’s scrumptious
almost fun
to see them trying to hide their discomfort and unease
as you float on
rock on
and escalate
like a leaf blowing by
in the summer breeze

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