Mahmoud Darwish - To a Young Poet

Don’t believe our outlines, forget them

and begin from your own words.

As if you are the first to write poetry

or the last poet.

Don’t ask anyone: Who am I?

You know who your mother is.

As for your father, be your own.

Truth is white, write over it

with a crow’s ink.

Truth is black, write over it

with a mirage’s light.

A poem in a difficult time

is beautiful flowers in a cemetery.

Deviate, with all your might, deviate from the rule.

Don’t believe the accuracy of our instructions.

Believe only the caravan’s trace.

You won’t disappoint me,

if you distance yourself from others, and from me.

What doesn’t resemble me is more beautiful.

— Mahmoud Darwish - To a Young Poet