25620205 mahmoud darwish poems

8/11/2019 25620205 Mahmoud Darwish Poems

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Mahmoud DarwishPalestine

2004 Principal Prince Claus Award

Translated by:Ferial Ghazoul,Sar on !oulos,"usain "addawi,A#ira $l%&ein,Sinan Antoon,Clarissa !urt,'unir A(ash,Carolyn Forch)*

Prince Claus Fund +S+' C-. !A/ or Culture and -e1elop#ent +nternational institute basis 1oor

or the study o isla# actuele (unst +n the #odern world


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CONTENTS

ere it up to #e to be in a ain 2

e tra1el li(e all people 3

+ tal( too #uch 4

They would lo1e to see #e dead

The (indhearted 1illa ers 5

The owl6s ni ht 7

A rhy#e or the odes 8 #u6alla9at ;0

The well ;2

As he wal(s away ;5

. "elen, what a rain ;ile? 2

Four personal addresses

.ne s9uare #eter o prison 2@

A seat on a train 27An intensi1e care roo# 2act their sad re1en e*

=iolins hunt #e down to (ill #e where1er they ind #e*

=iolins weep with Arabs lea1in Andalusia*

=iolins weep with Gypsies on their way to Andalusia*

2


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WHO AM I& WITHOUT E0ILE1

Stran er on the ri1er ban(,

li(e the ri1er, water binds #e to your na#e*

othin brin s #e bac( ro# this distance

to the oasis: neither war nor peace*

othin rants #e entry into the ospels*

othin * othin shines ro# the shores

o ebb and low between the Ti ris and the ile*

othin li ts #e down ro# the Pharaoh6s chariots*

othin carries #e, or loads #e with an idea:

neither nostal ia, nor pro#ise*hat shall + do? hat shall + do without e>ile

and a lon ni ht o azin at the water?

ater binds #e to your na#e*

othin ta(es #e away ro# the butter lies o drea#*

othin i1es #e reality: neither dust, nor ire*

hat shall + do without the roses o Sa#ar(and?

hat shall + do in a s9uare, where sin ers are

worn s#ooth by #oonstones?

e ha1e beco#e wei htless,

as li ht as our dwellin s in distant winds*

e ha1e, both o us, be riended the stran e bein s in the clouds*

e ha1e both been reed ro# the ra1ity o the land o identity*

hat shall we do?

hat shall we do without e>ile

and lon ni hts o azin at the water?

ater binds #e to your na#e*

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othin is le t o #e e>cept you*

othin is le t o you e>cept #e

a stran er caressin the thi hs o a stran er*

. stran er, what will we do with what is le t

o the stillness and the brie sleep between two #yths?

othin carries us: neither path nor ho#e*

as this the sa#e path ro# the be innin ?

.r did our drea#s ind a 'on olian horse on a hill

and e>chan e us or hi#?

hat shall we do?

hat shall we do without e>ile?

2@


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"OUR PERSONAL ADDRESSES

.( O+) s2uar) m)*)r o3 4riso+

+t6s the door, and beyond it is the paradise o the heart* .ur thin s and

e1erythin is ours are interchan eable* And the door is a door, the door o

#etony#y, the door o le end* A door to (eep Septe#ber entle* A door that

in1ites ields to be in their wheat* The door has no door, yet + can o into #y

outside and lo1e both what + see and what + do not see* All o these wonders and

beauty are on earth there and yet the door has no door? 'y prison cell accepts

no li ht e>cept into #ysel * Peace be unto #e* Peace be unto the sound barrier* +

wrote ten poe#s to eulo ize #y reedo#, here and there* + lo1e the particles os(y that slip throu h the s(yli ht a #eter o li ht where horses swi#* And + lo1e

#y #other6s little thin s, the aro#a o co ee in her dress when she opens the

door o day to her loc(s o hens* + lo1e the ields between Autu#n and inter,

the children o our prison uard, and the #a azines displayed on a distant

sidewal(* + also wrote twenty satiric poe#s about the place in which we ha1e no

plate* 'y reedo# is not to be as they want #e to be, but to enlar e #y prison

cell, and carry on #y son o the door* A door is a door, yet + can wal( out within

#e, and so on and so orth*

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5( A s)a* o+ a *rai+

Scar1es that don6t belon to us* o1ers at the last #inute* The li ht o the station*

Boses that decei1e a heart in search o tenderness* Treacherous tears on the

plat or#* 'yths that don6t belon to us* They tra1eled ro# here * -o we ha1e a

certain there , so that we #i ht re oice when we arri1e? Tulips are not or us, so

why should we lo1e the railway? e tra1el in search o nothin , but we don6t li(e

trains when new stations are new places o e>ile* anterns, but not or us, to see

our lo1e waitin in the s#o(e* An e>press train to cross the la(es* +n e1ery

poc(et, (eys to a house and a a#ily photo raph* All the passen ers return to their

a#ilies, but we do not return to any ho#e* e tra1el in search o nothin , so that

we #ay achie1e the ri htness o butter lies* indows, but not or us, to e>chan ereetin s in e1ery lan ua e* as the earth any clearer when we rode the horses o

the past? here are these horses? here are the #aidens o the son s? And when

in us are the son s o nature? + a# distant e1en ro# #y own distance* "ow

distant, then, is o1e? Fast irls, li(e robbers, hunt us* e or et addresses

scrawled on train windows* e, who all in lo1e or ten #inutes, cannot enter a

house twice* e cannot beco#e an echo twice*

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6( A+ i+*)+si7) 8ar) room

hen the earth presses a ainst #e, the wind spins #e around* + ha1e to ly, to

bridle the wind, but + a# a hu#an bein * +n #y heart, #any lutes are tearin #y

breast* 'y sweat is li(e allin snow, so picture #y ra1e in the pal# o #y hand,

+ was, little by little, tossed into bed, + threw up and lost consciousness or a

while, and then + died* At the ate o that hurried death, + called out: I love you,

may I enter death in your feet? And + died, + died utterly* "ow tran9uil and

peace ul is death without your cryin ? "ow tran9uil and peace ul is death without

your hands poundin on #y chest to brin #e bac(? !e ore and a ter death +

lo1ed you, and between + saw nothin but #y #other6s ace*

+t6s the heart, set loose or a while, that has returned* + as(ed #y belo1ed: In

which heart was I struc#? She leaned on #y heart and answered with tears* .

heart, how could you lie to #e and let #e tu#ble ro# #y nei hin horse? e

still ha1e considerable ti#e, so hold out with #e until a hoopoe ro# the Iueen o

Sheba6s land co#es to you*

e #ailed letters* e crossed thirty seas and si>ty coasts and yet we still ha1e

ti#e to wander*

. heart, how could you ool a horse who lo1es the wind? Ta(e your ti#e until we

inish this last e#brace and all to the earth in prayer*

Ta(e your ti#e that + #ay (now whether you are #y heart or her 1oice when she

cried out: "a#e me.

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9( A room i+ a ho*)/

Peace be unto lo1e when it co#es, when it dies and chan es lo1ers in hotels* -oes

it ha1e anythin to lose? e6ll drin( the e1enin co ee in the arden* e6ll tell

stories o e>ile in the ni ht* Then we6ll o to a roo# two stran ers searchin or

a ni ht o co#passion and so on and so orth*

e6ll lea1e a ew words on our two seats* e6ll or et our ci arettes, so others

#ay continue with the e1enin and the s#o(in * e6ll or et so#e o our sleep

on our pillows, so others #ay co#e and rest in our sleep and so on and so orth*

"ow was it that we put aith in our bodies in those hotels? "ow could we depend

on our secrets in those hotels? +n the dar(ness that has oined our bodies, others#ay continue our cry and so on and so orth* e are only two o those who sleep

in a public bed, a bed that belon s to all* e say only what transient lo1ers also

said a while a o* Goodbye co#es soon* as this hasty encounter only so as to

or et those who lo1ed us in other hotels? "a1e you not said these wanton words

to so#eone else? "a1e + not said these wanton words to so#eone else in another

hotel, or ha1e + said the# in this 1ery bed? e6ll ollow the sa#e steps, so that

others #ay co#e and ollow the sa#e steps and so on and so orth*

3;


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LESSON "ROM THE KAMA SUTRA

ait or her with an azure cup*

ait or her in the e1enin at the sprin , a#on per u#ed roses*

ait or her with the patience o a horse trained or #ountains*

ait or her with the distincti1e, aesthetic taste o a prince*

ait or her with se1en pillows o cloud*

ait or her with strands o wo#anly incense wa tin *

ait or her with the #anly scent o sandalwood on horsebac(*

ait or her and do not rush*

+ she arri1es late, wait or her*

+ she arri1es early, wait or her*-o not ri hten the birds in her braided hair*

ait or her to sit in a arden at the pea( o its lowerin *

ait or her so that she #ay breathe this air, so stran e to her heart*

ait or her to li t her ar#ent ro# her le , cloud by cloud*

And wait or her*

Ta(e her to the balcony to watch the #oon drownin in #il(*

ait or her and o er her water be ore wine*

-o not lance at the twin partrid es sleepin on her chest*

ait and ently touch her hand as she sets a cup on #arble*

As i you are carryin the dew or her, wait*

Spea( to her as a lute would to a ri htened 1iolin strin ,

as i you (new what to#orrow would brin *

ait, and polish the ni ht or her rin by rin *

ait or her until i ht spea(s to you thus:

"here is no one alive but the two of you.

%o ta#e her gently to the death you so desire,

and wait.

25620205 mahmoud darwish poems

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