I, for one, know no sweeter sight for a man's eyes than his own country, that's what a homeland is for Homer; so does for Mahmoud Darwish. The concept of "watan" or homeland is the central theme of Darwish's poetry. All throughout his life he is in quest for a land which he can call his; for the his fellow Palestinian to be called theirs. Through poetry he made known what is life without a homeland. As what Naomi Shihab Nye put it:
Mahmoud Darwish is the Essential Breath of the Palestinian people, the eloquent witness of exile and belonging, exquisitely tuned singer of images that invoke, link, and shine a brilliant light into the world's whole heart. What he speaks has been embraced by readers around the world-his in an utterly necessary voice, unforgettable once discovered.
Every line of his poem Guests on the Sea revealed his personal experience as an exile; being one of the guests on the sea. He himself had savored the experience of being homeless, of being a nomad, just like any other Palestinians. Their venture of having a place for their own has grown long, so long that "the plants of the distance have grown tall" already. Why is it that the realization of that simple longing is so difficult? They are pleading to the sea, to those who are in power, not to give them the "song they do not deserve" which is the exodus from their homeland. Perhaps that's why that line is given stress and repeated.
Mahmoud Darwish gave us a clear view of what is in the heart of every homeless individauls, their wants and their needs. Though, he is a poet of resistance he believed that even there's struggle, there's also the ray of hope and that peace is attainable.
Mahmoud Darwish is the Essential Breath of the Palestinian people, the eloquent witness of exile and belonging, exquisitely tuned singer of images that invoke, link, and shine a brilliant light into the world's whole heart. What he speaks has been embraced by readers around the world-his in an utterly necessary voice, unforgettable once discovered.
Every line of his poem Guests on the Sea revealed his personal experience as an exile; being one of the guests on the sea. He himself had savored the experience of being homeless, of being a nomad, just like any other Palestinians. Their venture of having a place for their own has grown long, so long that "the plants of the distance have grown tall" already. Why is it that the realization of that simple longing is so difficult? They are pleading to the sea, to those who are in power, not to give them the "song they do not deserve" which is the exodus from their homeland. Perhaps that's why that line is given stress and repeated.
Mahmoud Darwish gave us a clear view of what is in the heart of every homeless individauls, their wants and their needs. Though, he is a poet of resistance he believed that even there's struggle, there's also the ray of hope and that peace is attainable.
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