raluca_p's review against another edition
5.0
This land is too small for the blood of its children,
who stand on the threshold
of the Resurrection in masses.
Is this land really blessed or baptized
in blood
and blood
and blood,
which neither prayer nor sand dries.
There is not enough justice
in the pages of the holy book
to rejoice martyrs as they walk free above the clouds.
Blood by day,
blood in the dark,
blood in words.
He says: The poem may host loss,
as a thread of light flashing in the heart of a guitar
or a Messiah on a horse, pierced by beautiful, figurative language.
The aesthetic is only
the incarnation of Truth in form.
In a world that has no heaven the earth becomes an abyss.
And the poem is one of its consolation prizes,
one of the qualities of the winds, North or South.
Do not describe what the camera sees of your wounds.
Shout so that you hear yourself, shout so that you know
that you are still alive, and you know that life is possible on
this earth.
Invent a hope for words, or an area, or a mirage,
to prolong hope.
And sing, for beauty is freedom.
I say: Life defined only as the opposite of death is not life.
He says: We shall live,
even if life leaves us to our own devices.
Let us be masters of words
that will make our readers immortal,
as your brilliant friend Ritsos has it.
And he said: And if I die before you
I urge you not to forget the impossible!
I asked: Is the impossible far away?
And he said: A generation away.
I asked: And if I die before you?
He said: I will pay condolences to the mountains of Galilee.
And I will write, Beauty is only the achieving of what is appropriate.
And now do not forgetif
I die before you, I leave you the impossible.
When I visited him in New Sod om,
in the year two thousand and two, he was resisting
the war of Sodom against Babylon,
and cancer at the same time.
He was the last hero in that epic,
defending the rights of Troy.
An eagle bids farewell to its peak, rising,
rising,
living above Olympus
and the peaks
may bring on boredom.
Farewell.
Farewell to the poetry of pain!
who stand on the threshold
of the Resurrection in masses.
Is this land really blessed or baptized
in blood
and blood
and blood,
which neither prayer nor sand dries.
There is not enough justice
in the pages of the holy book
to rejoice martyrs as they walk free above the clouds.
Blood by day,
blood in the dark,
blood in words.
He says: The poem may host loss,
as a thread of light flashing in the heart of a guitar
or a Messiah on a horse, pierced by beautiful, figurative language.
The aesthetic is only
the incarnation of Truth in form.
In a world that has no heaven the earth becomes an abyss.
And the poem is one of its consolation prizes,
one of the qualities of the winds, North or South.
Do not describe what the camera sees of your wounds.
Shout so that you hear yourself, shout so that you know
that you are still alive, and you know that life is possible on
this earth.
Invent a hope for words, or an area, or a mirage,
to prolong hope.
And sing, for beauty is freedom.
I say: Life defined only as the opposite of death is not life.
He says: We shall live,
even if life leaves us to our own devices.
Let us be masters of words
that will make our readers immortal,
as your brilliant friend Ritsos has it.
And he said: And if I die before you
I urge you not to forget the impossible!
I asked: Is the impossible far away?
And he said: A generation away.
I asked: And if I die before you?
He said: I will pay condolences to the mountains of Galilee.
And I will write, Beauty is only the achieving of what is appropriate.
And now do not forgetif
I die before you, I leave you the impossible.
When I visited him in New Sod om,
in the year two thousand and two, he was resisting
the war of Sodom against Babylon,
and cancer at the same time.
He was the last hero in that epic,
defending the rights of Troy.
An eagle bids farewell to its peak, rising,
rising,
living above Olympus
and the peaks
may bring on boredom.
Farewell.
Farewell to the poetry of pain!
batata_fryy's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
fast-paced
4.25
illyricvm's review against another edition
5.0
“Farewell.
Farewell to the poetry of pain!”
•••
Is there anything more painful and bigger than Mahmoud Darwish’s wounds relating to his oppressed land. This great collection of words for resistance and need to prevail speaks to us daily and most to actual affected people.
Thank you for being their voice in life and death, thank you for advocating for your land, their land and our lands. The lands of our hearts and our identity. I am you and you are me
Farewell to the poetry of pain!”
•••
Is there anything more painful and bigger than Mahmoud Darwish’s wounds relating to his oppressed land. This great collection of words for resistance and need to prevail speaks to us daily and most to actual affected people.
Thank you for being their voice in life and death, thank you for advocating for your land, their land and our lands. The lands of our hearts and our identity. I am you and you are me
miramohamed's review against another edition
5.0
i love poetry and the fact that this is in arabic makes it that much more special
pipn_t's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
I really enjoyed this poetry, the language was beautiful.
mahek's review against another edition
3.75
Yeah I’m definitely not the right audience for this book (or poetry in general) but Mahmoud Darwish has a beautiful way of writing.
chrisljm's review against another edition
sad
medium-paced
4.0
lovely and melancholic
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, War, and Genocide