On this Land by Mahmoud Darwish
On this Land
Mahmoud DarwishOn this land, is what makes life worth living:
the return of April, the smell of bread
at dawn, a woman’s opinions on men, the writings of Aeschylus, love’s
beginning, moss on stone, mothers standing on the string of a flute,
and the invaders’ fear of memories.On this land, is what makes life worth living:
the end of September, a lady leaving
her forties full of apricots, the hour of sun in prison, clouds becoming
a swarm of creatures, the chants of a nation that faces its demise
smiling, and the tyrannies’ fear of songs.On this land, is what makes life worth living:
on this land is the lady of the land, the mother
of beginnings and endings. She was named Palestine. Still
named Palestine. My lady, I am worthy, because you are my lady,
I am worthy of life.
على هذه الأرض
Mahmoud Darwishعلى هذه الأرض ما يستحق الحياة: تردّد إبريل، رائحة الخبزِ
في الفجر، آراء امرأة في الرجال، كتابات أسخيليوس ، أول
الحب، عشب على حجرٍ، أمهاتٌ تقفن على خيط ناي، وخوف
الغزاة من الذكرياتْ.
على هذه الأرض ما يستحق الحياةْ: نهايةُ أيلولَ، سيّدةٌ تترُكُ
الأربعين بكامل مشمشها، ساعة الشمس في السجن، غيمٌ يُقلّدُ
سِرباً من الكائنات، هتافاتُ شعب لمن يصعدون إلى حتفهم
باسمين، وخوفُ الطغاة من الأغنيات.
على هذه الأرض ما يستحقّ الحياةْ: على هذه الأرض سيدةُ
الأرض، أم البدايات أم النهايات. كانت تسمى فلسطين. صارتْ
تُسمى فلسطين. سيدتي: أستحق، لأنك سيدتي، أستحق الحياة.
SELECTED BY SARA ABOU RASHED
This poem is titled “On this Land” by Mahmoud Darwish, Palestine’s National and most famous poet. Originally written in Arabic but widely translated. It’s among the first poems I’ve ever read as a child and resonates deeply with me as it gives reasons worthy of staying alive for, including having a homeland.
ABOUT SARA ABOU RASHED
Sara Abou Rashed is a Palestinian poet, speaker, and creator of the one-woman show, A Map of Myself. A former poetry fellow at the Vermont Studio Center, her work has been commended by the Forward Prize and was awarded the 2023 Hopwood Award for Poetry from the University of Michigan. Sara’s writing appears in The Kenyon Review, The LA Review of Books, Poetry Magazine, Poetry Wales, as well as 9-12 ELA curriculum from McGraw Hill and the anthologies A Land with a People, Heaven Looks Like US, and Ask the Night for a Dream: Palestinian Writing from the Diaspora.
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SHARED WITH GRATITUDE
This poem appeared in State of Siege by Mahmoud Darwish, published by Syracuse University Press, 2002. (Available on: Amazon • Bookshop)
DESCRIPTION
“Mahmoud Darwish (1942–2008), recipient of France’s Knight of Arts and Belles Lettres medal, the Lotus Prize, and the Lannan Foundation Prize for Cultural Freedom, is widely considered Palestine’s most eminent poet. State of Siege was written while the poet himself was under siege in Ramallah during the Israeli invasion of 2002. An eloquent and impassioned response to political extremity, the collection was published to great acclaim in the Arab world. Munir Akash’s translation, including an introduction exploring the rich mythology of these poems, presents the first book-length, bilingual edition of State of Siege to an English audience.” (Source)
ABOUT MAHMOUD DARWISH
Palestinian Mahmoud Darwish was born in al-Birwa in Galilee. He is the author of over 30 books of poetry and eight books of prose, and earned the Lannan Cultural Freedom Prize from the Lannan Foundation, the Lenin Peace Prize, and the Knight of Arts and Belles Lettres Medal from France. In the 1960s Darwish was imprisoned for reciting poetry and traveling between villages without a permit. Considered a “resistance poet,” he was placed under house arrest when his poem “Identity Card”… (more)
Read more poems by Mahmoud Darwish • Find books by this poet on Amazon • Bookshop • Or view my library
ENDNOTES
- This is Day 67 of Poems We Carry, celebrating the 20th anniversary of Read A Little Poetry—a living archive I’ve nurtured for two decades. For this milestone series, I invited writers I deeply admire to share poems that have meant something to them over time.
- Explore other works in pursuit of: memory • identity • hope • Or browse the index
- If this work resonates with you, please consider supporting the archive. Thank you for reading.
