No
by Ruth Baxendale

I won’t give in.
I’ll bend, surrender my body to the earth, laugh in the wind.
I won’t give in.
I’ll cover my face, hide my pain, walk through the ashes, run through the fire;
I won’t give in.
Send torrents to drown me, I’ll swim to the mountain,
However far,
I won’t give in.
Poison my land, my food, my heart,
Choke off my singing, destroy my art,
Homeless, bereaved, broken, and sick,
Facing the void, the flood, knife’s prick,
I’m here,
And I don’t give in.

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