About the poet
Mahmoud Darwish (1941–2008) was a renowned Palestinian poet and author, widely considered the national poet of Palestine and one of the most influential voices in modern Arabic literature. Throughout his life, Darwish was involved in political activism and journalism, including working with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), though he later distanced himself from direct political affiliations His work captures the complexities of the Palestinian experience and gives voice to the struggles of a people living under occupation.
Analysis
The poem ‘A Letter from Exile’ was written while Mahmoud Darwish was living in exile in Lebanon. He was only six years old when Israel declared independence, leading to the displacement of millions of Palestinians. His family fled to Lebanon as refugees. As a result, many of his poems are deeply informed by the trauma and pain caused by the Palestinian exodus. This poem reflects on the themes of displacement and survival. It is a letter addressed to the speaker’s mother, in which he describes his experiences of exile and the ways in which he has adapted to living in the diaspora. The poet describes the loneliness and alienation that the speaker feels as a result of his displacement. Despite this, the poem expresses a sense of hope and resilience.
The first section of the poem is dedicated to the description of the speaker’s experience in exile. He feels unsure where their stories begin and end. Time feels endless and unchanging. All he has with him is a lunchbox with dry bread and a strong feeling of longing. To ease his heavy heart, the speaker writes with bitterness in a journal. However, no matter what he says, it won’t bring him back home or heal his wounds.
In the next section, the speaker talks to a radio and a swallow. He wants to connect with his homeland, even though he can’t talk to his people directly. He asks the radio to tell someone that he is okay and asks the swallow to remember him when it flies back home and tell others that the speaker is fine. The speaker mentions that his sight is still good. The moon is still in the sky, and although his clothes are torn, he has fixed them. These details symbolize that even though his life is not easy, he is still managing to survive. The patched-up clothes suggest resilience. He may be worn down, but he is not broken. The speaker says that he is a young man in his twenties, suggesting that his exile has been a long experience. He talks about his work in a restaurant, washing dishes and making coffee. He puts on a smile for customers, even though he feels sad inside.
The speaker talks about becoming an adult, smoking, and flirting with girls. However, the poem also reminds us of the speaker’s struggles. He asks if it really matters whether a person goes to bed full or hungry. Even though the speaker says he is fine, he still faces hard challenges. The speaker finds comfort in small things like a loaf of bread and vegetables. The repeated phrase “I’m fine” shows his resilience.
The speaker listens to a radio show where people send messages from their families and friends back to their homeland. Everyone on the program says they are fine and happy, but this doesn’t match the speaker’s own feelings of being displaced. The speaker worries about his own family. He asks about his father, wondering if he still cares about God, children, and olive trees—symbols of faith, family, and homeland. He also asks about his brothers and whether they have jobs. His father’s proud words about his children becoming professors highlight a stark contrast with the speaker’s current situation, showing lost dreams and opportunities.
The speaker’s questions about his sister and whether she has suitors, and about his grandmother and whether she still prays for them, show how much the speaker values family and tradition. He inquires about his house too. The speaker hears messages from the homeless to the homeless on the radio. This suggests irony: the program, meant to bring comfort, instead highlights the speaker’s sense of abandonment. While others claim to be fine, the speaker is sad. The repetition of “sad” is honest, breaking the earlier pattern of insisting “I’m fine.”
The speaker then addresses his mother, a symbol of warmth, comfort, and home. He uses imagery to describe the feeling of being pursued by a hungry wolf and haunted by ghosts. The speaker’s question about dying twice—once in life and once in death—emphasizes the sense of loss. He continues by expressing his fear of dying alone and without a proper burial. The image of the speaker’s body being thrown in the shade of a willow tree without a shroud reinforces the sense of alienation in exile, while the question of whether the willow tree will remember him deepens this feeling. The poem ends with a series of questions: “What is a good man without a homeland, without a flag, without an address?” These things represent identity, belonging, and recognition—without which the speaker feels like a nameless being.