"Here, on the slopes of hills, facing the sunset and the gaping mouth of time... we do what prisoners do, what the unemployed do: we cultivate hope."

Written in 2002 during the siege of Ramallah, State of Siege (حالة حصار) is a lyrical journal of high tension and profound humanity. Addressing freedom, love, and the enemy with a unique language forged on the "edge of death," Darwish transforms the military blockade into an existential condition. Amidst leaden skies at noon and nights lit orange by artillery, the poet observes the mundane details of survival and declares a victory of the spirit: "The siege will extend until we teach our enemies samples of our pre-Islamic poetry." It is a testament to the stubborn persistence of life, where the ultimate act of resistance is simply to continue living, remembering, and refusing to leave a foothold for loss.