Mahmoud Darwish

Mahmoud Darwish was born in al-Birwa in Galilee, now part of Israel, on March 13, 1941, to a middle-class Muslim farming family. As a child, Darwish was witness to the Arab-Israeli war, which forced his family to flee to

Earth Scrapes Us

by Mahmoud Darwish (1942–2008)

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Earth scrapes us, pressing us into the last narrow passage, we have to dismember ourselves to pass,
Earth squeezes us. Wish we were its wheat, to die and live again. Wish it were our mother,
Our mother would be merciful to us. Wish we were images of stones that our dreams carry
Like mirrors. We have seen the faces of those who will be killed defending the soul to the last one of us.
We wept for the birthday of their children. We have seen the faces of those who will throw
Our children from the windows of this last space of ours. Mirrors that our star will paste together.
Where shall we go, after the last frontier? Where will birds be flying, after the last sky?
Where will plants find a place to rest, after the last expanse of air?
We will write our names in crimson vapor.

Click here for complete poem

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November 29

Bella Akhmadulina dies, 2010

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Poetry Trivia

Question:

Which poet's sister (who was also a poet) killed their mother by stabbing her with a table knife?

Answer

Both Charles Lamb and his sister Mary struggled with bouts of mental illness. Mary stabbed and killed their mother in 1796. Charles had her released into his care so that she would not have to spend her life imprisoned.

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