And I Tell Myself, A

We Are Captives Of What We Love, What We Desire, And What We Are.

Sometimes I Feel As If I Am Read Before I Write. When I Write A Poem About My Mother, Palestinians Think My Mother Is A Symbol For Palestine. But I Write As A Poet, And My Mother Is My Mother. She's Not A Symbol.

I See What I Want Of Love... I See Horses Making The Meadow Dance, Fifty Guitars Sighing, And A Swarm Of Bees Suckling The Wild Berries, And I Close My Eyes Until I See Our Shadow Behind This Dispossessed Place... I See What I Want Of People: Their Desire To Long For Anything, Their Lateness In Getting To Work And Their Hurry To Return To Their Folk... And Their Need To Say: Good Morning.

Exile Is More Than A Geographical Concept. You Can Be An Exile In Your Homeland, In Your Own House, In A Room.

I Am Not A Lover Of Israel, Of Course. I Have No Reason To Be. But I Don't Hate Jews.