IDENTITY CARD

Many of you will know that my favourite blog interest is poetry - see http://poemsandprose.blog.co.uk/

Well, now it has spilled over into this blog also with the following news report that I read yesterday.

POET MAHMOUD DARWISH DEAD AT 67

Mahmoud Darwish, the world's most recognised Palestinian poet, whose prose gave voice to the Palestinian experience of exile and infighting, has died following open heart surgery at a Houston hospital. He was 67.

Darwish's work has been translated into more than 20 languages and won numerous international awards.

Born to a large Muslim family in historical Palestine - now modern-day Israel - he emerged as a Palestinian cultural icon who eloquently described his people's struggle for independence, and as a vocal critic of both the Israeli occupation and the Palestinian leadership.

He gave voice to the Palestinian dreams of statehood, crafted their declaration of independence and helped forge a Palestinian national identity.

"He felt the pulse of Palestinians in beautiful poetry. He was a mirror of the Palestinian society," said Ali Qleibo, a Palestinian anthropologist and lecturer in cultural studies at Al Quds University in Jerusalem.

Darwish first gained prominence in the 1960s with the publication of his first poetry collection, "Bird Without Wings". It included a poem ("Identity Card") that defiantly spoke in the first person of an Arab man giving his identity number - a common practice among Palestinians when dealing with Israeli authorities and Arab governments - and vowing to return to his land.

Many of his poems have been put into music - most notably "Rita", "Birds of Galilee" and "I yearn for my mother's bread" - and have become anthems for at least two generations of Arabs.

Darwish's influence was keenly felt among Palestinians, serving as a powerful voice for many.

"He started out as a poet of resistance and then he became a poet of conscience," said Palestinian lawmaker Hanan Ashrawi.

"He embodied the best in Palestinians ... even though he became iconic he never lost his sense of humanity.

We have lost part of our essence, the essence of the Palestinian being."

(From a Press Association article)

IDENTITY CARD

Record!
I am an Arab
And my identity card is number fifty thousand
I have eight children
And the ninth is coming after a summer
Will you be angry?

Record!
I am an Arab
Employed with fellow workers at a quarry
I have eight children
I get them bread
Garments and books
from the rocks..
I do not supplicate charity at your doors
Nor do I belittle myself at the footsteps of your chamber
So will you be angry?

Record!
I am an Arab
I have a name without a title
Patient in a country
Where people are enraged
My roots
Were entrenched before the birth of time
And before the opening of the eras
Before the pines, and the olive trees
And before the grass grew

My father.. descends from the family of the plow
Not from a privileged class
And my grandfather..was a farmer
Neither well-bred, nor well-born!
Teaches me the pride of the sun
Before teaching me how to read
And my house is like a watchman's hut
Made of branches and cane
Are you satisfied with my status?
I have a name without a title!

Record!
I am an Arab
You have stolen the orchards of my ancestors
And the land which I cultivated
Along with my children
And you left nothing for us
Except for these rocks..
So will the State take them
As it has been said?!

Therefore!
Record on the top of the first page:
I do not hate people
Nor do I encroach
But if I become hungry
The usurper's flesh will be my food
Beware..
Beware..
Of my hunger
And my anger!

Mahmoud Darwish