Almond Blossoms and Beyond »

Almond Blossoms and Beyond is one of the last collections of poetry that Mahmoud Darwish left to the world. Composed of brief lyric poems and the magnificent sustained Exile cycle, Almond Blossoms holds an important place in Darwish's unparalleled oeuvre. It distills his late style, in which, though the specter of death looms and weddings turn to funerals, he threads the pulses and fragilities and beauties of life into the lines of his poems. Their liveliness is his own response to the collection's final call to bid "Farewell / Farewell, to the poetry of pain."

Library Journal

Internationally recognized Palestinian poet Darwish, who died in 2008, writes lyric poems about uprootedness, exile, love, and the idea of death, which seems to throb between his lines: "Death has strayed and missed you/ in the crowds...he put off his visit." In what is likely his last collection, (following the recent If I Were Another), Darwish writes in a clear, simple, and yet elusive language charged with sharp visual images and vibrant musical beats (Orange-like, the sun enters the sea/ the orange is a water lamp on cold trees"). A particular strength is his building on theme words that recur throughout, allowing his text to take different shapes and structures. Though Darwish is a cultural icon among his people who has contributed much to shaping the Palestinian identity and consciousness, this work showcases his ability to recharge his language and reach for universal themes. VERDICT Darwish's transformative language delights; for poetry readers.—Sadiq Alkoriji, South Regional Lib., Broward Cty., FL

Think of others 3

Now, in exile 4

When you gaze long 5

If you walk on a street 6

A cafe, and you with the newspaper 7

He and none other 11

He waited for no one 12

Orange-like 14

A wedding over there 15

Wide space 16

These are the words 19

To describe an almond blossom 20

I sit at home 21

I love autumn and the shade of meanings 23

As for spring 24

I used to love winter 25

As if I were joyful 26

Happy (I know not why) 27

I do not know the stranger 28

Beautiful women are beautiful women 31

Like a small cafe, that's love 32

A hand that scatters wakefulness 33

I wish I were younger 34

I do not sleep to dream 35

She forgot a cloud in the bed 36

She/he 37

She does not love you 39

She has not come 41

When you are with me 43

Now, after you 44

Tuesday, a bright day 49

With the fog so dense on the bridge 61

Like a hand tattoo in an ode by an ancient Arab poet 73

Counterpoint (for Edward W. Said) 87