As a poet, musician, and artist, Mustafa has collaborated with everyone from Valentino to Drake. But for his new book, Nour, created in collaboration with WePresent, Mustafa found a new collaborator: Channing Tatum. The actor contributed a new written work, “Worshipping Surrender,” for Mustafa’s book, which also includes new poems from Pedro Pascal, Dev Hynes, Max Porter, and Warsan Shire among others. Also in its pages—available to download now from WeTransfer and soon at Climax Books—are photo essays from Mustafa’s pilgrimage to Mecca and a rumination on girlhood by the artist Sabiha Çimen.
“Nour means light, and so much of what I know about light comes from the poetry I’ve been gifted in my life. A lot of that poetry came from my faith, and there’s no better way of understanding ceremony than through poetry,” Mustafa says. “Curation is something I care for deeply, having a collage of my favorite perspectives and finding a flag in the ground to connect them means so much to me. And this wouldn’t have been possible without WePresent, they were critical collaborators throughout.”
Below, read Tatum’s debut poem exclusively on i-D.
“Worshipping Surrender” by Channing Tatum
You told me God wasn’t real
as we sat in the water in the dark that night
I couldn’t see your eyes but I could feel the anger
in the water. You said if there was and that god
could let a child be violated it was not a god
worth worship. Many other things were said
on many nights in that angry water
Mostly talk of power soaked in booze and fear
So it’s safe to say I’ve never known religion
I still hear your voice say “Worshipping anything
is for fools” over the dull sound of the football on TV
I always imagine clowns on bikes with baskets on the front
Honking and riding in circles
But my great secret is that I have always felt you
Felt angels. Felt love.
Felt the magic of so deeply caring for another
I never knew what exactly to call it.
Now as I write this maybe that’s what worship has been for me
I’ve heard it said, god is love. Maybe my way to worship
is to love. Every person I meet. As reckless or stupid
as that can be. But I also worship
my bedsheets, my favorite pillow. I worship the feeling
right before I drink coffee, the smell of breakfast
I have loved so much as I have drifted through this life.
Loved so hard I almost loved myself
right out of this world because it was all too much
But now I surrender at the feet of each day
that I get to experience beauty, the warmth of love
Sun on my skin
I have never known religion but I’ve always
known you. My love. Love. Love.
I will always worship love. I surrender
my love always. I surrender my love forever.