State of siege

Mahmud Darwisch: State of siege

When the airplanes disappear the doves fly,
White, white, they wash the cheeks of the sky
With their free wings, regaining the glory and monopoly
Of the air and of playing. Higher and higher, the doves fly,
White, white. Would that the sky
Were real. [A man, passing between two bombs, told me]
[…]
Glimmer, insight, and lightning
Could look the same…
In a little while I’ll know if this was
Revelation…
Otherwise, close friends will know that the poem
Passed, killing the poet

Al-Ahram Weekly 581/2002