'I begged him not to go to US'

Dubai: Mahmoud Darwish's mother did not expect her son's visit two weeks before his death to be his last one.

His mother, made famous by Darwish's poem My Mother's Bread had been bedridden for over a year, but the news of her son's unexpected death got her out of bed to eulogise the son who lived away from her and used to pay her quick and sometimes secret visits, the Al Khaleej Arabic daily reported.

"Whatever I say does not do Mahmoud justice. He came to visit before he travelled to the US. I begged him not go, and I cried. You may not believe it, but I felt tightness in my chest when he told me about the surgery.

"I begged him not to do it, but he said he had thought it through and decided to undergo surgery. He had made the decision," she said.

One of the most vivid memories his mother has of her son is his poem My Mother's Bread. She does not remember the words but the images this poem left.

Big shock

"Journalists used to visit me all the time and ask me to make the bread that Mahmoud liked. When I baked, I did not have that image in mind, but I used to feel that Mahmoud could taste my bread."

Darwish was very fond of his sister, Siham, who said they used to talk every day.

"I felt he was close to me and living among us, although he was far and we did not see him often," she said.

"When he came two weeks ago to bid us farewell, we all felt he was confused and scared. He stayed with us until the next morning, and when we all gathered to say goodbye, he was worried and could not hug and kiss us as usual. He just waved and left quickly. We all cried and had a disturbed feeling.

"For two weeks, I tried to remain optimistic but I was very sad. His death is a big shock," she added.