Mahmoud Darwish Poems Today

Unfortunately, It Was Paradise (translated by Munir Akash and Carolyn Forché).

I don’t want this poem to end, because the night is long, and I am afraid of the dawn’s black holes... I want to say to the one I love: I am not a god nor a devil, I am a poet, and the poet is the one who, when he dies, becomes his words. mahmoud darwish poems

For Darwish, "home" is not a dot on a map but a state of longing. In his famous poem "I Belong There," he writes: "I belong there. I have many memories. I was born as everyone is born. I have a mother, a house with many windows, brothers, friends, and a prison cell with a cold window!" He does not romanticize exile; he dissects its anatomy—the way it sharpens memory while poisoning the present. Unfortunately, It Was Paradise (translated by Munir Akash