Narrator, “No More and No Less”
In a departure from many of Darwish’s other poems, the narrator of this poem is female. The narrator uses the poem to explain that she is a woman of simple pleasures. She does not ever wish to be sculpted by other people’s hands or stereotyped by those around her. She is simply herself—she exists as she is, and she does not wish for societal expectations or pressures to influence her sense of identity. The narrator of this poem wishes to share with her readers and those around her that her status as a female should not complicate her existence; she is merely a human with likes and dislikes.
Narrator, “In Her Absence, I Created Her Image”
The narrator of this poem is being driven positively mad by the loss of his lover. All he has to console himself and remember her by is a mentally fabricated image of her; to the narrator, this woman is nothing more than a mirage. Though he longs to see her, touch her, and caress her, the narrator now only has his memories and his imagination through which to interact with his love. This absence is driving him mad and he is quite convinced that he will be driven to the brink of sanity by the fact that he can see this unnamed woman in his mind’s eye, but will never again be able to kiss her, touch her, or exist with her.
Narrator’s Lover, “In Her Absence, I Created Her Image”
Little is known about the narrator’s lover. Though the narrator now only remembers her is a visage—a figment of his imagination—it is clear that she was a real woman. The narrator mentions that his lover has taken a leave of absence. It is unclear whether this absence was voluntary and/or permanent. The woman, for example, could have voluntarily left the narrator or she could have died. What is known about this character is that the very memory of her is driving the narrator to the brink of insanity. His love and obsession and infatuation with this woman was so great that even the mental image of her is enough to sustain him in her absence.
Narrator, “Who Am I, Without Exile?"
The narrator of this poem is likely an extension of Darwish, himself. Like Darwish, the narrator’s time in Egypt has been fundamentally life-altering; he has found so much of himself in this country that he fears a return to Palestine. Because of his time in Egypt, the narrator has grown to realize the importance and root of identity and self-reflection. Having spent time in a proverbial exile, where he was distinctly separate from the whole of humanity, the narrator was forced to confront his own identity and reflect upon the influence society had over his ideologies and beliefs. When in exile, the narrator realizes the importance of isolation, for it is when we are deeply removed from the societal expectations that our identity is rooted in that we are more able to deeply and authentically explore our own souls and identities.
