Channing Tatum and Pedro Pascal have created a new collection of anthology poems, curated by Canadian musician and poet Mustafa. The book also includes contributions from writers like George Sanders, Max Porter, and Hanif Abdullakib.
Titled *Noor*, this collection delves into themes of rituals, loss, and devotion. Pascal’s poem opens with, “You told me that God was not real/We sat in the water in the dark that night, so I couldn’t see your eyes, but I could feel angry/I felt angry/I felt in the water.”
Mustafa, who released his debut album, *Dunya*, last September, has previously earned writing credits for songs by artists such as Camila Cabello, The Weeknd, Justin Bieber, and Shawn Mendes.
His writing often addresses the struggles stemming from gang violence and the impact of losing friends, shaped by his upbringing in Toronto’s Regent Park, the city’s first social housing project. He shared that he hasn’t returned to the area since his brother was killed in 2023, speaking about it during a recent launch event with actor Daniel Kaluuya.
“In my mind, I want to talk about my brother,” he expressed to George Sanders. “But is it my fault? He was killed, and I want to reconsider his memory. I want to write beauty where it is lacking, but I don’t want to overlook the harsh reality of it all.”
Mustafa mentioned that he found inspiration in the pages of *Lincoln*, which won the Booker Prize.
During the launch event, he noted, “It’s the most important thing I’ve ever attended.” The anthology also features works from poets Noor Hindi and musicians Daniel Caesar and Devhines.
“In art, especially poetry, there’s a need for surrender,” Mustafa pointed out. “You can’t expect beauty without that invisible thread connecting great works.”
Worship of Channing Tatum’s Surrender
“You told me that God wasn’t real
That night, I was sitting in the water in the dark.
I couldn’t see you, but I could feel angry
Underwater. If you were there, and you said that God
You can infringe a child, it was not God.
A valuable worship service. Many other things have been said
Many nights in that angry water, the story mostly of alcohol and fear-infused power.”
“So it’s safe to say I never knew religion.
I still have your voice saying, ‘I worship everything.’
For fools on the dull sounds of soccer on TV.
I always imagine a clown on a bike with a basket at the front,
Becoming a circle and riding.”
“But my big secret is that I have always felt you.
Felt Angel. I felt love.
I felt a very deep caring magic about others.
I never knew I should call it that.
Now as I write this, it might have been adoration for me.”
“I heard that God said it was love. Probably my way of worship
Is about loving everyone I meet. Reckless or foolish
That might be. But I will worship too
My bed sheet, my favorite pillow. I worship emotions
Just before drinking coffee, the smell of breakfast.”
“I’ve been drifting through this life, and I’ve loved it so much.
I almost loved myself.
There were so many, so quickly from this world.
But now I surrender at my daily feet
To experience beauty and the warmth of love,
Sun on my skin.”
“I never knew religion, but I always knew you.
My love, love, love.
I always worship love. I surrender
Always my love. I will surrender my love forever.”
Untitled by Pedro Pascal
“I see you,
The slow bloom.
I smoke for the first time right after sunrise.
Wear pants and buy pillows,
Drop cash,
Then leave him alone in the stranger’s closet.
Mushroom Lamp says, ‘What the hell? Rem is here.’
I explain that I have to go back to the beginning
And I’ll go back many times
Until I realize I keep falling for those footprints.
‘Are you okay.’
People smoke here
Because they like me. Sit near the bird waste and fabricate what never happened.
But they’re cool with that.
Someone told me she was invited by a man who had a knife around her neck
Because her sister always picks the wrong man.
I tell her I was a very slow bed wetter.
All other stories occur on their own,
Never enter the mirror, never to you.
But the object caught off guard by my hostility,
By this form of sadness.
11 months and only this:
I was astounded by the lightning of your existence
Because you’re gone now.”
