The Dungeon Has No Walls

posted on: Apr 22, 2026

Luke McMahan has been a student of Arabic for two and a half years; and all throughout this time he has been told how wonderful Arabic poetry is. But because not many translations exist online of anything but the most famous poems, he had to wait to progress in his language ability to begin to interact with these works. In this article, he can confidently translate some of these poems; and hopes he can give non-Arabic speakers a chance to read them as well. Though not fluent or a professional translator; he hopes to maintain as much of their lyricism, ambiguity, and beautiful imagery as possible. Presented here is “The Dungeon Has No Walls,” a poem by Mahmoud Darwish.

The Dungeon Has No Walls

لا جدران للزنزانة

Mahmoud Darwish

محمود درويش

Poem linked here.

As its custom

كعادتها

My dungeon saved me from death

أنقذتني من الموت زنزانتي

And from the rust of contemplation, and the fraud

ومن صدأ الفكر , والاحتيال

Upon an exhausting idea

على فكرة منهكهْ

I found on its ceiling the face of my freedom

وجدتُ على سقفها وجه حريّتي

And a grove of oranges

وبيّارة البرتقال

And names who lost yesterday their names

وأسماءَ مَنْ فقدوا أمس أسماءهم

On the battlefield

على تربة المعركهْ

I will now confess,

،سأعترف الآن

How beautiful is confession

ما أجمل الاعترافْ

So don’t you grieve on Sunday

فلا تحزني أنت يوم الأحد

And speak for the people of the country:

:وقولى لأهل البلد

We will postpone the wedding gathering

سنرجئ حفل الزفافْ

To the beginning of the coming year

إلى مطلع السنة القادمهْ

The birds flee from my grasp

تفّر العصافير من قبضتي

And the star avoids me… and jasmine

ويبتعد النجم عنّي… والياسمين

And the number of those who dance decreases

وتنقص أعداد من يرقصون

And your voice wilts before ripeness

ويذبل صوتك قبل الأوان

But my dungeon

ولكنّ زنزانتي

As its custom,

،كعادتها

Saved me from death

أنقذتني من الموت

My dungeon…

…زنزانتي

I found on its ceiling the face of my freedom

وجدت على سقفها وجه حريتّي

And your forehead radiated over the wall…

…فشعّ جبينك فوق الجدار

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