So recently I came across a poet named “Mahmoud Darwish” and I have fallen in love with his work. I am writing this post to save some of his most famous writings, I want to save it for me so that I read it again and again.
A little introduction about this legend. He was a Palestinian national poet. He was born in Palestine but during the Arab-Israeli war, his village was captured by Israeli forces and his family fled to Lebanon. You can read most about him on Wikipedia.
I want to focus on his source of inspiration “Rita”. He was 17 when love towards a young Jewish woman knocked on his door. He fell for her and she fell harder. her name was Tamar Ben-ami. They met during the time his parents returned to Israel and started living in village called Haifa in northern Israel.
Darwish used to send her love letters for decades, and even at the age of 70 she has still preserved those letters carefully but their love story has led to too much headache and sorrow for both. for her, he wrote
I love you despite the nose of my tribe, my city, and the chains of customs. But I’m afraid if I sell everyone, you will sell me and I’ll return with disappointments.
He used to call her Rita, although many ig reels say that he fell in love with Mossad’s agent, The truth is she joined IDF and he felt personally and philosophically betrayed by her choice. She transitioned from being his lover to taking on the role of his worst enemy.
in 1964 darwish wrote his famous poem ‘Write Down I’m an arab’ which led him to prison. she visited him in prison…when guards asked her what she was doing there. she replied ‘im his sweetheart you bastard and I have come with him all the way to say goodbye’ She was an officer in the Israeli army at that time.
There is this poem he wrote on Rita named - Rita’s Winter. In this poem, Darwish says in the end
" Out of my ignorance I called you homeland and I forgot that homelands are taken away”.
Here are some of this finest work -
- You will meet someone who makes you regret your kindness.
- And what’s strange is that a stranger is nicer.
- Maybe it was something not important to you but it was my heart.
- You are killing me and you’re keeping me from dying maybe that’s love.
- my homeland was occupied again
- If I ever see a flaw of yours, I’d say my eyes are the flawed ones.
- All the roads lead to you, even those I took to forget you.
- As if memories have a heart that beats at night.
- If someone asked me how many times you came to my mind I would say once because you came and never left.
- Speak of her over my grave and watch how she brings me back to life
- How do I say “I miss you” in a way that will make your heart ache like mine does
- I loved you in a way I wished someone would love me
- And I knew from the beginning that I found you to lose you and loved you to miss you.
- If it was a paper, I would tear it. If it was a wall I would break it down but it is my heart.
- I can’t forget you, not because I have a strong memory but because I have a heart that never denies those who settled in it once
