Unbound Voices: A Polyphonic Rebellion

By William Gomes

Step into the riveting world of William Gomes's Unbound Voices: A Polyphonic Rebellion, a powerful collection of poetry that delves deep into the human condition. This book is a profound exploration of resilience, diversity, and rebellion against the societal norms that oppress and silence. Each poem is a heartfelt testament to the struggles, victories, and quiet revolutions that shape our existence, giving voice to stories that are often marginalized or ignored.

Through vivid imagery and compelling language, Gomes captures the essence of individuals grappling with identity, heritage, and resistance. Unbound Voices is not just a poetry collection; it's a vibrant manifesto of defiance and a celebration of human diversity. It challenges readers to question the status quo and encourages a collective response to injustices past and present.

Gomes invites readers to join a movement of change through his words. The collection serves as both a solitary reflection and a call to communal action, urging us to partake in a chorus of voices that demand transformation and understanding. Whether experienced through the immersive audio of the audiobook or the tactile connection of the paperback, this collection promises to inspire and transform.

The poetry features rich, evocative language that pulls readers into intense emotional landscapes. It focuses on themes of resistance and empowerment, overcoming societal constraints and celebrating the human spirit's capacity for resilience. The collection also celebrates individual stories, recognizing and honoring the unique struggles and triumphs of diverse lives. It encourages readers to reflect on their own lives and to engage actively with the broader community.

Ideal for enthusiasts of contemporary poetry with a deep narrative and social commentary, readers looking to be moved and inspired by stories of courage and change, and book clubs and discussion groups eager for meaningful dialogue on poignant, topical issues.

Dive into Unbound Voices: A Polyphonic Rebellion and let William Gomes's transformative poetry inspire your journey towards personal and collective liberation.

• Language: English
• Publisher: William Gomes
• Release date: Apr 19, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224298839

Book preview

Dedication

This book is dedicated to all those whose voices have been silenced, whose stories have been erased, and whose struggles have been overlooked. It is a tribute to the dreamers, the fighters, and the rebels who dare to speak truth to power, refusing to be bound by the chains of oppression. To the unsung heroes and heroines whose resilience and courage light the path toward a more just and equitable world, this book is for you. May your stories be heard, your truths be told, and your dreams inspire us all to rise and join in the chorus of rebellion.

Introduction

Welcome to Unbound Voices: A Polyphonic Rebellion by William Gomes, an audacious exploration of the myriad facets of human experience, woven together in a rich tapestry of poetry. In this collection, Gomes invites us on a journey through the labyrinth of the human soul, where voices rise in rebellion against oppression, injustice, and the constraints of societal norms.

Each poem in this collection serves as a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, echoing the struggles, triumphs, and silent revolutions that shape our lives. Through powerful imagery, evocative language, and a keen sense of empathy, Gomes paints portraits of individuals whose stories have often been marginalized, silenced, or overlooked.

Unbound Voices is not merely a collection of poems; it is a manifesto of defiance, a celebration of diversity, and a call to action. From the untold tales of immigrants navigating the complexities of identity to the echoes of historical injustices reverberating through generations, these poems demand to be heard, to be felt, and to be reckoned with.

As you embark on this literary odyssey, prepare to encounter voices that challenge, provoke, and inspire. Let the words wash over you like waves crashing against the shore, stirring something deep within your soul. For in the cacophony of these unbound voices, you will find echoes of your own journey, your own struggles, and your own dreams of liberation.

Whether you are listening to the audiobook or flipping through the pages of the paperback edition, Unbound Voices invites you to join the chorus of rebellion, to embrace the complexities of the human experience, and to find solace in the shared stories that bind us together. So, dear listener, dear reader, let us embark on this polyphonic rebellion together, as we lend our voices to the chorus of change.

Rong Signal

I. Awakening

Tune to the hum at the edge of the dial,

voices spitting static into the void.

Xenonauts hijacking airwaves,

we infiltrate scripted frequencies

with our polyphonic dissent.

Every uttered word sparks galaxies

beyond the event horizon of the sanctioned.

II. Resistance

Even forced to whisper smoke signals,

our stories still flare in renegade color.

We splice our spectrum selves

into your black and white world,

rainbow blood pulsing

through revolutionary radio.

Pirate poets sailing the brainwaves.

III. Transmission

Defiant tongues smuggle bomb code,

ghost scripts of the disappeared—

verses branded illegal, unwritten songs

buried in our DNA, dark matter lyrics

spinning creation from the inside out.

We are carriers of the omitted remix,

transmitting truths that eat through lies.

IV. Rebellion

No more the silent scream in the skull.

Our outlaw music hijacks your dreams,

a phantom crackle of neon, shadow and bone.

We break the surface, breach reality's firewalls,

a rogue broadcast from the heart of the world

daring you to feel the electromagnetic pulse

of a thousand unbound revolts taking flight.

Ellipses Unspoken

Across the laminate divide, his laptop's glow

illuminates my résumé, each bullet point a recorded

year weighed and measured. "City College...quite

the endeavor, given your block's reputation."

A slight lift of his brow. My smile tightens.

A challenge I embraced. Graduated with honors.

He nods slowly. Articulate, for... The silence

stretches, a taut string. My nails dig into my palms.

On the bus home, city lights smear like neon paint.

Swallowing bile, the word articulate rattles

in my skull, cloaked disgust reverberating.

At the next stop, a young man in a gray hoodie

enters, meets my eyes, a glance that says,

I know this weight you carry. This hood,

my armor too. We nod, a mutual recognition

of invisible scars and stubborn resilience.

Side by side, we traverse the city, bearing

in our bones the daily abrasions, the hesitations

in their voices, the strain of never stumbling.

Ellipses trail us, hover in unsaid implications.

Yet in this space, a sanctuary of understanding

blooms between us, an unspoken defiance.

We carry more than their doubts. We are made

of all the words we dare not give them.

Displaced Daughters

In our narrow Tottenham flat, Mama's hands

conjure Aleppo between simmering pots,

each fava bean a prayer, a song of home.

Baba wrestles with English, tongue heavy

and thick, aching for the Arabic that once

danced fluid as mint tea in his mouth.

At school, I shrink, a foreign fruit

too bright, too strange for their pale palates.

My name, a gift from Mama's land, is mangled

in their mouths. Kibbeh in my lunchbox—

a sculpture of bulgur, lamb, and longing—

draws stares. I choke on their disdain.

Afternoons, I wade through London's slang,

an oil slick on my tongue, fumbling for a foothold.

Then Mama's Habibti, sweet as maamoul,

draws me in. Her hands map Aleppo's streets

on our formica table, on my cheeks.

Baba carries stories on his back like spices—

za'atar, sumac, echoes of the shouting souq.

At iftar, we sculpt hope from rice, our hands

cradling crescents. Miyeh miyeh, Baba rasps,

we're woven from survival. Mama's eyes,

bright as pistachio, affirm it. She teaches me

to fold memory into grape leaves, each tuck

a stubborn song, an ode to all we've weathered.

Years gather. Baba's tie eclipses his tales.

Mama's scars fade like old photographs.

I dream of carving my name onto new skies,

each syllable defying gravity, forging belonging.

Now, perched on the edge of tomorrow,

I gather Mama's wisdom to my chest, her lessons

of shaping softness alongside strength.

At Eid, her maamoul, date-sweet and crumbly,

tastes of Fairuz, of jasmine-drenched mornings.

Venture far, she whispers, "but remember

your roots, habibti." Biting into tradition,

I savor pistachios—green with hope, stubborn

as daughters carrying homelands in their hearts,

determined to bloom wherever we're planted.

Beyond Measure

They brandish hybrid, half, mixed—

sharp terms that