Mahmoud Darwish Quotes

Do not say, "It is morning," and dismiss it with a name of yesterday. See it for the first time as a new-born child that has no name.

We have been exceedingly busy ever since you went away. In the first place we have had to rejoice two or three times everyday at your having such very delightful weather for the whole of your journey...

In man (as the only rational creature on earth) those natural capacities which are directed to the use of his reason are to be fully developed only in the race, not in the individual.

This is the last time I'm asking you this,
Put my name at the top of your lips.
This is the last time I'm asking you why
You break my heart in the blink of an eye, eye, eye.

Every time you smile, I smile
And every time you shine, I'll shine for you.

African music, though very old, is always being rediscovered in the West.

But what's the alternative? What's the alternative to pumping out a unit every nine months? Pointless careerism? Pointless careerism, putting on a man tailored suit and shoulder pads and imitating all the worst behavior of men? Is this the noblest thing that women can think of?

Both in thought and in feeling, even though time be real, to realise the unimportance of time is the gate of wisdom.

When people show you who they are, believe them, the first time. Not the 29th time!

Time is the wealth of change, but the clock in its parody makes it mere change and no wealth.

Never mind, I'll find someone like you,
I wish nothing but the best for you, too.
Don't forget me, I beg.
I remember you said,
"Sometimes it lasts in love,
But sometimes it hurts instead.

The opposite of work is idleness. But very few of us know what to do with idleness. When you look at the way that we distribute our lives in general, you realize that in the periods in which we have a lot of money, we have very little time. And then when we finally have time, we have neither the money nor the health.

But look — he flicks his hand to the back of his neck. For such gesture one falls hopelessly in love for a lifetime.

My approach to politics is that I never said I'm smart. But why aren't I allowed to write about my experience?

Women in Cape Verde are very strong, and we have a fighting spirit.

We have to care about our bodies and what we put in them. Women have to take the time to focus on our mental health—take time for self, for the spiritual, without feeling guilty or selfish. The world will see you the way you see you, and treat you the way you treat yourself.